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Mark of the Vanguard
Hand Of The Gods (Old)
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Shoes of the Magi
Sovereignty
Void Stone
Hide of the Nemean Lion
Bulwark of Hope
Shoes of the Magi
Void Stone
Sovereignty
Bulwark of Hope
Hide of the Nemean Lion
Stone of Gaia
Mystical Mail
Breastplate of Valor
Midgardian Mail
Magi's Cloak
Aegis Amulet (Old)
Heavenly Agility
Creeping Curse
Girdle of Might
Purification Beads (Old)
Hello SmiteFire! This is my first Smite guide, so please go easy on me!
Athena, Goddess of Wisdom! The first woman to have a tank roll in SMITE!
Now, I have played tanks like 
Guan Yu, 
Sobek, and 
Hades; Athena though, she's freaking awesome! Her high sustain/defense is so good! Her damage output is AMAZING too!
I love playing as her and all I can say is she is the best tank out there in my opinion! I love her so much to the point where it inspired me to create this guide for you guys so you can try her out yourself! :D
Also this took me a very long time to make... so plea
PROS |
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+High Defense +High Crowd Control +Excellent Damage Mid/Late Game +Global Ultimate - HIGH DAMAGE +  Confound aka her taunt is super strong
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CONS |
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-Low Damage Early Game -Not the best solo laner because gets pooped on by duo laners (i.e  Apollo,  Anhur,  Neith, Sobek)-Gets focused on for being a tank -If low on gold(from dying multiple times), hard to catch up with team -Need to rely on teammate for ultimate in team fights for that damage |
Now, all of you may be wondering why I have a different build when it comes to AD/AP... Well, I have my reasons:
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Mark of the Vanguard |
This is a MUST GET item for any tank. This is because you get +100 HP and +5 Physical/Magical Protection. |
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Shoes of the Magi |
Shoes of the Magi gives your  Preemptive Strike,  Shield Wall and  Defender of Olympus that extra damage to kill an enemy god. That's why you see Guan Yu grabing magi boots, the penetration is really good.
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Void Stone |
Again, a MUST HAVE item. This also gives Athena that magical power to deal damage and magical protection from those mages like hebo,  Eset,  Poseidon.
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Sovereignty |
This item is really good when it comes to tanking. I got ganked by 3 people this one time with Sovereignty at tier 3 and I had no problem getting out. 450 HP + 65 Physical protection, nice. The passive is also nice too: Physical and Magical Protection is increased by 20 around your allies :)
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Hide of the Nemean Lion |
Hide of the Nemean Lion is VERY good for those hard hitting melee/bruisers like  Thor,  Hun Batz,  Hercules,  Bakasura,  Loki,  Kali and other melees. That 80+ physical protection is NICE, especially the passive which is 30% of damage they do to you is inflected to them as magical damage!
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Bulwark of Hope |
Bulwark of Hope is more useful (IN MY OPINION) than Stone of Gaia because Bulwark of Hope gives you 450 HP and if you have 25% below health you gain a shield that reduces damage by 50% for 1 second. Now, this is debatable. I just get Bulwark of Hope because of the 450 HP and the passive for it. Stone of Gaia does give you 10+ more magical protection than Bulwark of Hope though, but Stone of Gaia doesn't give you that 450 HP you need to stay alive.
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| magi's blessing |
This is another option if their magical carry is doing heavy damage. magi's blessing gives you 350+ health/mana, +50 magical protection and creates a bubble around Athena that absorbs an ability. (i.e  Frost Breath,  Charge Prey,  Anvil of Dawn,  Noxious Fumes,  Detonate Charge)
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| mystical mark | I would not recommend mystical mark because I have used it at least 3 times. The sustain I guess is not good enough for me. The passive on mystical mark is good for solo laners... but I don't know. It doesn't work for me. It's just me. |
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Midgardian Mail |
Midgardian Mail is okay. I sort of recommend/not recommend because there are other items that are better than this. It's just situation because it's like "should I get Midgardian Mail or should I get a different item??" It really depends on the situation. The passive is when hit by a basic attack, the enemy is movement speed and attack speed is slowed by 30% for 2 seconds.. I don't really like it. But whatever, who says you cannot use it! These are just opinions
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Breastplate of Valor |
Breastplate of Valoris an option if you are mana hungry, need physical protection (75+ phy protection), and CDR (25%)
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Stone of Gaia |
Like I said before, Stone of Gaia is not recommended in my opinion because I'd rather get something like Bulwark of Hope or magi's blessing because of the HP those 2 items give. Stone of Gaia gives REGEN. I would rather have HP instead of HP5/MP5 regen. Like I said before, these are just opinions!
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 Shoes of Focus |
Why? Shoes of Focus is horrible on tanks. The CDR is good, but don't get it just because of the CDR. The reason why tanks even get Shoes of the Magi is because the penetration is so good. With Guan Yu you can use your  Warrior's Will and  Taolu Assault to lower the enemy god's (NOT TANKS OBVIOUSLY) health by AT LEAST half of their HP.
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greaves &  Reinforced Greaves &  Plated Greaves |
greaves on Athena is useless. The sustain/defense practically doesn't do its job. What I mean is that greaves gives you defense, right? Well, even with Reinforced Greaves AND OR Plated Greaves she WILL be squishy. This one time I fought an Athena with Apollo and Thor... She got burst down quickly. This is when she built it to tier 3, not just greaves it self.
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YOU NEED TO BE WITH YOUR TEAM WHEN IT COMES TO TEAM FIGHTS AND GANKING AT ALL TIMES
I don't know how hard I need to stress this out. In order to get kills/assists(for gold and xp), be with your team when it comes to fighting other enemy gods. Sure, you may be able to solo and kill an enemy god, but it's risky.
1.) You could easily be ganked, enemy may have set a trap so you could solo
2.) The enemy could easily run away, make sure to get the kill secured
3.) You don't have a lot of mana, enemy could walk away with low HP and you not securing the kill due to low mana.
Strategies
Strategy wise, here is what you need to know:
1.) Confound is the key to victory. Confound does a silence/stun. An addition to that, it's also a VERY DAMAGING combo with Shield Wall! Remember that combo!
2.) When chasing an enemy, use your Preemptive Strike, then follow it up with Confound and Shield Wall! If enemy is still alive, repeat the process! (REMEMBER TO HAVE TEAMMATES SO ENEMY DOES NOT GET AWAY)
3.) When late into a team fight or team fight is beginning(teammates in trouble), makes sure to use Defender of Olympus to an ally that is near the enemy god(s)! The more enemy gods the better!
P.S. When you have used Defender of Olympus, chase the enemy with Preemptive Strike, following that up with Confound and Shield Wall!
Athena needs teamwork in order to succeed.
She relies on her carries to finish off the enemies (i.e Apollo, Neith,
Xbalanque)
Always pick up Mark of the Vanguard and 
Boots of the Magi.
Consider buying these items:
Void Stone
Sovereignty
Hide of the Nemean Lion
Bulwark of Hope
magi's blessing
Breastplate of Valor
Confound + Shield Wall = MAIN SOURCE OF DAMAGE & SILENCE/STUN
In the name of 
Zeus... Never get greaves, Plated Greaves, Reinforced Greaves or Shoes of Focus. Athena ends up being useless and squishy. I don't know why, but I've seen it happen when it endes up with those boots/shoes.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below!
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Taunt is not a silence and a stun, it's a taunt, that's why it's a taunt.
Another thing that is complete nonsense is favoring penetration over CDR on a CC based tank. Controlling the enemy is why you pick gods like Athena AT ALL. This is what makes her special and strong. Ignoring and complimenting that with penetration instead of CDR is stupid as hell. She has 2 skills that deal dmg, one deals ok damage, AFTER a delay, uses alot of mana, cannot be targeted and doesn't have range, and the other deals low damage to single target. Not counting her ult because it's very unreliable for the damage.
Your comment regarding different shoe types is also irrelevant and shows the way you designed the guide. Purely based on what you like and fit's you based on the games that you won with said build. There is nothing explained and no logical thought behind your statements. Sorry but guides like this are good examples of misleading information.
My reasoning is
Also, I completely disagree with the never get Greaves.
You do not have a Hide of the Leviathan so you have NO CC reduction. That 30% is really needed, because if you think you're squishy even with greaves, wait until you're caught in a CC chain.
I'd also heavily consider
However im gonna have to disagree with you on Shoes of Focus. Athenas main strenght is her Taunt and its on a basic cooldown of 18seconds. With Shoes of Focus you get this down considerably and might just end up saving your teammate that very moment you needed it. Plus your ult will be the same story.
+15 penetration vs saving your teammates cant even be questioned and Void stone should be enough to bruise a bit at early/mid levels.