Minerva

(Miner′va), the godde of wisdom, war, and the liberal arts, is said to have sprung from the head of Jupiter fully armed for battle. She was a great benefactre of mankind, and patrone of the fine arts. She was the tutelar deity of the city of Athens. She is also known by the names of Pallas, Par the nos, Tritonia, and Glaukopis. She was very generally worshiped by the ancients, and her temple at Athens, the Par the non, still remains. She is represented in statues and pictures as wearing a golden helmet encircled with an olive branch, and a breastplate. In her right hand she carries a lance, and by her side is the famous aegis or shield, covered with the skin of Am althaea, the goat which nourished Jupiter; and for the bo of the shield is the head of Medusa. An owl, the emblem of meditation, is on the left; and a cock, the emblem of courage, on the right. The Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, London, were brought from the Par the non, her temple at Athens.