In some views, the owl is more than her patron as she is sometimes depicted as being the owl. It was her excellence in war intelligence that lead to victories, and it was this that made her so revered.

The Greeks were always fighting Amazons but as such, Greek warriors were unhappy to have to fight women. They tolerated the Grecian Athena whom was, in their eyes, virtually no different than an Amazonian woman warrior except that she was on the side of the Greeks. She so aided the Greek cause and was such a brilliant military tactician that she had earned their reverence. So happy were they for her help and strategies during the Persian War they in the 5th century B.C. the constructed a monument on the Athenian Acropolis, they Parthenon, to honor her.

The patroness of Athens, Athena is not ever shown to be with an owl and only rarely shown with any symbol for the owl, so much as being depicted as the owl.

Modern day statuette of Athena’s owl.

This is a souvenir that my father-in-law bought for my wife while on a stop-over at Heathrow Airport, in London, England about ten years ago. Holding this small but weighty object is a pure delight. At only 1-inch wide and approximately 1 3/4-inch tall, it is surprisingly heavier than it looks.

The Owl is Strength and Wisdom

The very appearance of this Athenian Owl exudes a feeling of great wisdom, strength and intelligence. A perfect symbol to represent a Goddess.

Athena is quoted to have said to Odysseus to quell his doubts of her:

"Most people are content to put their trust in far less powerful allies, mere men and not equipped with wisdom such as mine. But I that have never ceased to watch over you in all your adventures am a goddess."

There is some allusion to Athena’s ability to shape-shift back and forth, transitioning between both female human form and that of an owl. The owl is Athena. Athena is the owl. Her intellectual campaign in war, depicted as a warrior owl, shows her presence, her strategy and her exceptional skill in the art of successful warfare campaign against the enemy. The owl represents pure wisdom. It is a powerful symbolic duality, Athena and the Owl. It is possibly this Greek mythology why the owl is so revered to this day as being supremely wise and scholarly in so many cultures.

The Athenian Owl tetradrachm

Honored in a silver coin (specifically, called a tetradrachm) that originated from Athens, for over 300 years (approx. 430 – 99 B.C.) the Athenian Owl coin was accepted everywhere as legal tender for trade and commerce. It is cited to have had a stabilization effect on the economy of the known world for it’s far reaching recognition and purity, uniformity of weight, it’s standard was accepted across borders much like the U.S. dollar has enjoyed for most of the last century.

Several different versions of the designs were known, and all were all individually hand-stuck and there are enough variations to make specimens of the same issue noticeably unique from it’s contemporaries. -Despite a reusable die, no two coins were struck exactly alike. It is cited that if even as many as 50 coins of the same type of Athenian Owl coin were compared closely, every one would be slightly different with an identifiable unique provenance. Such is what happens with hand-struck coins.

Modern reproductions, Collectible Coins

Some very talented modern day metal workers make reproductions for sale as novelty collectibles, such as this one here from my personal collection, purchased from an online coin dealer for a reasonable price.

Modern day reproduction of the Owl of Athena coin, shown larger than actual size.

(All photos by thestickman, -that’s me)

The location of the temple in a city was their way of linking the building to their distant past.

The Parthenon is a perfect example of this. The Parthenon is found on a hill called the Acropolis, or "High City." In second millennium, the Acropolis was believed to be where a Mycenaean citadel could be located. Athenian myths believed Acropolis to be the site of the competition between Athena and Poseidon for control over Athens. Acropolis is also associated with the founding city. It used to house the Temples during the Archaic Period. The political background is vital to the understanding of the Parthenon, the centerpiece of the Periclean building movement.

The Parthenon is the most important monument of the ancient Greek civilization. Today, its prestige never faded being an international symbol. It was built in honor of Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens. It was constructed between 447 and 438 B.C. Its extensive sculptural decoration was completed some time later in 432 B.C.

The construction of the monument was started by Perikles. Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor overlook the entire project. Iktinos and Kallikrates were the commissioned architects of the building. The temple observes the Doric order in its construction. It was comprised mostly of Pentelic marble. Its shape is peripteral - with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The center of the temple was called the cella where the centerpiece of the sculptural programme, the famous colossal chryselephantine cult statue of Athena built by Pheidias, was found. Ancient copies and literary descriptions depicted the statue as a chryselephantine statue made of gold and ivory, and approximately 38 feet tall.

Sculpture was vital part of the architecture of Greek temples. The Parthenon stands out in this area due to the immense number of sculptural decoration found in the place. Harmony comes into play in the various elements towards a consistent sculptural program. For instance, the extensive collection with coherent theme all 92 metopes in the Doric frieze course demonstrate sculptured reliefs.

The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon presents a rare mixture of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature, and the Ionic frieze which can be found on the walls of the cella. The metopes portray the Gigantomachy on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy on the south, and scenes from the Trojan War on the north.
The relief frieze portrays the Procession of the Panathenaea which was considered the most ceremonial religious festival of ancient Athens. The depiction can be seen on all the four sides of the building. It consists of the figures of gods, beasts and around 360 humans.
The two pediments of the temple were adorned mythological scenes. In the east which is located above the building's main entrance, depicted the birth of Athena. In the west, one could see the depiction of the battle between Athena and Poseidon to decide who will get the name of the city of Athens.

The Parthenon preserved its religious character long after it was built. In the succeeding, Parthenon was converted into a Byzantine church, a Latin church and a Muslim mosque.