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The rare subject of this painting is based on the account of Apollodorus in the Greek and Ovid in the Latin. Zeus sent the twelve gods of Olympus to judge a contest that would settle a dispute between Athena and Poseidon, both of whom claimed Attica as their own. The goddess was deemed triumphant and Attica was renamed Athens in her honour.
Formerly the painting was attributed to Vittore Carpaccio and Lazzaro Bastiani. It is now recognized as the work of Michele da Verona, a major proponent of Venetian styles in the terraferma, incorporating the developments of Carpaccio and Bastiani.
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