Vermin bothered Athene at first, being a goddess (7)
I believe the answer is:
minerva
'a goddess' is the definition.
(I know that Minerva is a goddess)
'vermin bothered athene at first' is the wordplay.
'bothered' indicates an anagram.
'at first' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'athene' is 'a'.
'vermin' with letters rearranged gives 'minerv'.
'minerv'+'a'='MINERVA'
'being' is the link.
(Other definitions for minerva that I've seen before include "female of great wisdom" , "Divine female" , "Roman goddess of learning" , "wise goddess" , "deity of wisdom" .)