Words+of+Wisdom

Athena and the Owl

The name Athens came from the Greek goddess Athena. Athena means wisdom and power.Athena and all the other gods and goddess got to choose there own city in Greece and Athena and Poseidon both wanted Athens. So Zeus asked them what they would do for the city-state and Poseidon said I will give them all the items for war. Athena said war is not the answer but peace so I will give them an Olive tree and so the Athenians accepted the tree and named the city after her. Athena and the owl were both symbols of Athens. Just like Athena, the owl means wisdom and power. On the Athenian coins they either had an owl or Athena on them. In some pictures of Athena you can see her holding an owl or an owl in the back round. In Greece another name of an owl is " Athena of the Night."

Athens had beautiful art work. One of the most well known is the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a temple to Athena. Inside was a statue of Athena made out of pure gold. The Parthenon sat on the highest point of Athens, The Acropolis. Athens was part of a war against the Persians. The Persians had torn Athens apart so they decided to leave to a near by island. Cleisthenes was the Greek leader of the war. His idea was to have the battle at sea. Where they were at was very narrow soo they only made about 200 boats. The Persians made 100! The battle was a very difficult battle. The rowers would row 6-12 hours in the end the Greeks one.

By Brooke

