Athena is a supporting antagonist in Season 6 and a minor antagonist in Season 8 of Arrow.
Athena is the leader of the Thanatos Guild and intends to find a hidden Lazarus Pit Malcolm initially intended to find for himself. However, in order to do so, Athena needs Thea Queen, which puts her at odds with Team Arrow.
She is portrayed by Kyra Zagorsky.
Biography[]
Past[]
Athena was a member of the League of Assassins but defected and joined Malcolm Merlyn instead. Currently, Athena is the former second-in-command of the Thanatos Guild, having succeeded the rule of the guild's leader after the death of its leader, Merlyn.
Locating the Heir[]
After her agents have located the heir of Ra's al Ghul, Thea Queen, Athena rallies her league. However, she reveals to her followers that while Malcolm prepared for their ascension, he also made sure that the journey could not commence without his own blood. While she talks, Athena recognizes one of her masked followers as Nyssa al Ghul and orders her to step forward. Both women draw their swords but Nyssa reveals that she also brought plastic explosives. With her bomb, Nyssa brings down the Guild's hideout - although all of Athena's followers survive - and flees with the knowledge about Malcolm's heritance.
Since Athena believes Thea to be in possession of a map that leads to some ancient power - a Lazarus Pit - she sends out her guild to capture Thea. However, Nyssa interferes, saves Thea from Athena's scouts and tells her about Athena's plans for her. This leads to Nyssa, Thea and Team Arrow to head out to find the map and the power before Athena can find it. They find a map hidden inside a encrypted cypher cube but before they can open it or flee, Althena and members of her guild show up. She promises Thea that she will be merciful and let the rest live if Thea hands over the cube, but the team decides to fight instead. While Thea and Roy flee with the cube, Athena engages Nyssa and defeats her, claiming that Nyssa had the same stance during battle since she was eight years old. Athena then goes after Thea and Roy, defeating both and once more offering Thea to come with them. However, Thea activates one of the traps that Merlyn built into his hideout, killing three of Athena's followers and wounding her as well. Thea and the rest of the team use the opportunity to flee.
To draw out Thea and the box, Athena and her guild head to the city's gas plant and cut off the city's gas supply. Once Thea arrives, Athena reveals to her that the map alone is meaningless - they also need Thea's blood. Thea attacks her and during the swordfight between the two, Athena claims that Malcolm spoke of Thea in the past and was always ashamed of her weakness. Athena knocks down Thea but Thea then raises the map, prompting Athena to come closer to grab it. When Athena comes closer, Thea stabs her in the stomach and Athena seemingly dies but when Thea turns around again, her body is left. Nyssa then comes to her side, claiming that Athena is hard to kill.
Return and death[]
Thea later tells Oliver she and Nyssa destroyed all the Lazarus Pits on Earth, but she's working on taking down Athena and the Thanatos Guild, who still remains at large. Beneath the League of Assassins, Thea, Oliver and Nyssa's sister Talia make their way through the catacombs. Talia tells them that her father kept his most prized possessions in a secret room down there, and that among those possessions was likely a document about Al-Fatih, whom she calls "the first Ra's al Ghul", and who League legend says was gifted knowledge from the sky gods. The trio arrives at the secret room to find it ransacked, with only the scroll about Al-Fatih left behind. A riddle written on the scroll leads Oliver to realize they need to burn it, which in turn reveals a stone sphere which Talia believes to be the key to finding Al Fatih's tomb. Just then, Athena and the Thanatos Guild enter, demanding the sphere. Talia turns it over to them, and a fight ensues. Oliver, Thea, and Talia position themselves between the Guild and the door, and Talia throws a smoke bomb, allowing the trio to escape.
Later, Oliver, Thea, and Talia talk about what a coincidence it was that the Guild arrived while they were there. Thea snipes at Talia about handing over the sphere, and Talia says they don't need it, she memorized the markings on it as a map that will lead them to Al-Fatih's tomb. She also surmises that Athena wanted the map so she could take the sword of Al-Fatih, the holder of whom is granted absolute loyalty by their followers, so she can use it to restart the League of Assassins. Oliver tries to persuade Thea to go back to their camp and wait for them, saying Thea is Athena's chief rival in restarting the League.
At the top of the mountain, Oliver and Thea arrive at the tomb to find it open. Athena and the Guild arrive with a captured Talia. Oliver and Thea are forced to hand over their weapons, and Athena forces the two of them and Talia lead the way into the tomb. Within the tomb, another riddle tells them to open Al Fatih's coffin, which reveals a staircase down.
Back in the tomb, the group descends further in, facing more boobytraps along the way. Talia, Oliver, and Thea get past the latest trap, but two Guild members are not as lucky. Oliver retakes his weapons and holds off the Guild while Thea goes after Talia, who has hurried ahead. The two duel while Oliver fights off Athena. During the fight, Oliver throws Athena on a booby trap, which explodes and falls on Athena, killing her. Her death, as well as all of her followers, puts an end to the Thanatos Guild, as well as ending her conflict with Thea.
Gallery[]
