Athene

views updated Jun 27 2018

Athene in Greek mythology, the patron goddess of Athens, typically allegorized into a personification of wisdom. Her statues show her as female but fully armed, and in classical times the owl is regularly associated with her. The principal story concerning her is that she sprang, fully armed and uttering her war cry, from the head of Zeus. She is also called Pallas. Her Roman equivalent is Minerva.
Athenaeum originally the temple of the goddess Athene in ancient Athens, which was used for teaching; the term is used in the names of libraries or institutions for literary or scientific study, especially in the Athenaeum, a London club founded in 1824, originally for men of distinction in literature, art, and learning.

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