In the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Athena gave Hercules a bronze rattle to frighten away the Stymphalian birds.
The birds lived around Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia and were described as dangerous creatures with metallic feathers, beaks, and claws. Their numbers and position among the reeds made them difficult for Hercules to reach with ordinary arrows.
Athena supplied a device made by the divine craftsman Hephaestus. Its loud clattering noise startled the birds into the air, allowing Hercules to shoot many of them with his bow. In some versions, the surviving birds fled far from the lake.
The object is variously translated as a rattle, clapper, or noise-maker. This can cause confusion with a musical instrument, but the important detail is that Athena’s bronze device created a terrifying sound and was used to flush the birds from their hiding place.