THE ATHENS BIRD
18:09:00
According to the Greek Mythology, goddess Athena was impressed by the large eyes and the serious appearance of the owl. Since then, the owl became the goddess' sacred bird and the symbol of wisdom, prudence, as well as the emblem of the city of Athens. It inhabited the Acropolis citadel in abundance. The significant number of little owls in the region is a fact noted since antiquity by Aristophanes in "The Birds" and "Lysistrata".
The Athenians loved and protected the sacred bird. They believed that goddess Athena was taking its form when she wanted to communicate with them and the bird’s appearance in battles was the omen of victory. In the Battle of Salamis, chronicled in Plutarch's biography of Themistocles, owls flying through the ranks were interpreted as Athena's blessing!
They
also believed that it protected the Athenian commerce and that is why
the owl was depicted on the one side of the four- drachma silver coin. The Athenian "tetradrachm" was known as glaux (γλαυξ = little owl) throughout the ancient world. Owls also were commonly reproduced by Athenians in vases and especially in prize amphoras for the Panathenaic Games.
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