Athena (アテナ, Atena) (Greek: Αθηνά) is a platform arcade game, produced and published in 1986 by SNK. It was later ported to the NES, developed by Micronics. Conversions were done also for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987 by Ocean Software under their Imagine label. However, only the NES version was released for North American homes until the PlayStation Network saw a release of the arcade original in 2011. The game's protagonist, Princess Athena, has gone on to appear in later fighting games by SNK as a secret character or assistant to her descendant Athena Asamiya, a frequent main character in these games.

Upon landing, unarmed and mostly nude, the princess only has her kicks to fend off the approaching monsters, but she may collect the dead enemies's various weapons and also has the chance to find shields, headgear and armor to cover her body, however, these will be lost after withstanding some attacks. Her journey requires leaping and climbing as well as fighting through the land's eight hazardous worlds, each leading up to an oversized enemy that must be dealt with before proceeding to the next area. The use of certain weapons such as a hammer allows Athena to break through stone blocks, sometimes revealing not only armor but magic items such as Mercury's sandals that, when worn, allow her to make great leaps.

The game features certain role-playing video game elements to complement the platform action. Princess Athena has to defeat enemies such as the final boss by using various mythological weapons, items and equipment. Without some items, she cannot make it through the adventure.