Minerva

Goddess of Wisdom, War and Weaving



Focus: Infantry



Age: Classical

Worship: Jupiter, Mars

God Power

Hex: stops all healing, regenerating and building repair on the map for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Myth units

Arachne: A human-spider hybrid that attacks with sharp claws. Has the ability to lay Spider Eggs similar to the Atlantean God Power "Spider Lair".



Improvements

Black Widow: Arachnes have +20% attack and the recharging time of their special ability is decreased by 20%. Spider eggs have +50% hitpoints and -20% hack and pierce vulnerability.

Silk Armor: Infantry have 10% more pierce armor and 15% more speed.

Lusoria Arma: Legionnaires train 20% faster and have 10% more attack.





Her name derives from meminisse, meaning "to remember". Renowned for her chastity, Minerva rejected the advances of many gods, including Mars. She was notably filled with pride and would challenge mortals and other gods to competitions should they consider themselves superior or equal to her. One of her contests was against Neptune, god of the sea, in which they were challenged with producing the most beneficial gift to the population of a newly founded coastal city. Neptune, with the strike of his trident, sprung either a horse or a spring (which unfortunately turned out to be salt water), but Minerva caused an olive-tree to grow from the ground, which granted the local population food, shelter from the sun and wood. Minerva of course won and was granted the right to name the city Athens. As daughter of Jupiter, she was part of the powerful Capitoline Triad, which included her father and his wife, Juno. Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy, brought a cult statue of the goddess to Rome where it was placed in the temple of Vesta. As long as that statue was preserved, the city was safe from harm.



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If you are going to worship Minerva, it should be because you plan to have Legionnaires as the core of your army in future battles. Legionnaires can only be trained in the Heroic Age so it would be recommended to advance as quickly as possible. Once you have advanced and researched, you will have access to faster and stronger legionnaires that will pour out of the military academy 20% faster.

The Arachne myth unit is a good melee fighter than can even make an instant kill if she can guard her egg properly. If timed properly, you can slim down your opponent's forces, giving you an edge in battle. Finally, Minerva's god power Hex prevents all units and buildings on the map from regaining HP. Essentially, it prevents enemies from using healers (Physicians, Priests, Monks etc.) to recover from a previous or current attack. Since the Romans lack a dedicated healer unit, there is little drawback for them.One may choose to save this power should the enemy attempt to build a Wonder to stop them from repairing it once a siege has begun.



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