So much revered as she?”
Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter and was said to have leaped forth from his brain mature and in complete armor. She was warlike in her tendencies, but it was defensive war only with which she was in sympathy.
As a goddess of storms and battles the Greeks called her Athene, and as she also possessed gentle characteristics, she was styled Pallas.
She was the goddess of wisdom, of weaving and of agriculture, and was forever a virgin, scorning the affections which were frequently offered her. As the especial divinity of the people of Athens she put to flight a deity named Dullness, who had ruled there.
“Ere Pallas issued from the Thunderer’s head,
Dullness o’er all possessed her ancient right,
Daughter of Chaos and Eternal Night.”
—Pope.
Many temples and altars were dedicated to Minerva, the most celebrated of all being the Parthenon at Athens.
INTERPRETATION.
Minerva is a dawn goddess. Her Greek name, Athene, from the Sanskrit ahana, means the “light of daybreak.” She springs from the “dark forehead of the broad heavens,” searches out the dark corners, and fills all with her light. This conception of penetrating scrutiny passes readily into the idea of wisdom. The Latin Minerva, is connected with mens, the English mind.
ART.
It is easy to recognize statues of Minerva, as she wears an Ægis or mantle of goatskin (the emblem of the storm-cloud), the clasp of which is the head of Medusa, won for her by Perseus. It has been suggested that this head so worn has an inner meaning, and that it is intended for a symbol of evil which, though always present, may be made powerless by virtue.
This well executed statue of Minerva in the Capitol, Rome, is a direct offspring of the colossal creation in ivory and gold by Phidias which stood in the Parthenon. The energetic, warlike figure is short and thick-set. The folds of the drapery, especially that of the upper garment, are sharp and angular.
