Athena is a ska-punk band based in Istanbul, Turkey, who represented their country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.
Founded by twin brothers Hakan Özoğuz (guitar and backing vocals) and Gökhan Özoğuz (lead vocals and guitar) in 1987, they initially started out as a thrash metal band, but with no success. Afterward, they switched to ska punk. Their second album, Holigan, achieved so much success that the title song was used to march into Turkish football games.
Athena was the face of Turkey as part of the Millennium Concert at Taksim Square in Istanbul on the first night of 2000. The said concert was broadcast live by the Turkish channel NTV. They were later invited to the Popkomm Festival held in Köln, Germany where they performed with the Beastie Boys.
That same year, they released their third album, Tam Zamanı Şimdi, in which their single Yaşamak Var Ya became a huge success. The album was certified gold and their tours sold out. In January 2002, Athena’s fourth album Her Şey Yolunda was released. Two songs from this album, Öpücük and Beyoğlu were major hits. In 2003 Athena became part of an anti-war movement against the Iraqi war and contributed to the collaborative song Savaşa Hiç Gerek Yok (No Need for War), performing with many other musicians.
In 2004, they were selected to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, with the song For Real. It ended up placing 4th with 195 points. Their next album was released that same year, and started experimenting with alternative rock.
