Minerva is the goddess of wisdom in Roman myths. In Greek mythology, her image corresponds to Pallas Athena. The ancient Etruscans showed special respect to Minerva. These people considered her the lightning-fast goddess of mountains, necessary inventions and new discoveries. The Romans also treated the celestial goddess. This is indicated by the gladiatorial fights that took place during the celebration of Quinquatria, the main celebration in honor of the goddess.
Who was she revered by?
The ancient Romans considered Minerva the daughter of Jupiter, who patronized cities and residents working peacefully and calmly. Artists, musicians, doctors, sculptors, artisans and other people who had a noble profession were awarded the special favor of the beautiful goddess. A festival called Quinquatria was held in her honor. The celebration was held at the end of March and lasted for five days.
Great holiday
On the first day of the celebration, students were excused from classes, and schoolchildren brought their tuition fees to their teachers. If military operations were ongoing at this time, they were interrupted. All the townspeople made bloodless sacrifices to the goddess in the form of cakes, honey and butter. After this, the gladiatorial games began. On the last, fifth day of the festival, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, “received gifts” from civilians who made sacrifices to her in the special rooms of the shoemakers. In addition, trumpets and musical instruments, which were under the special protection of Minerva, were solemnly consecrated. In ancient times in Rome, the trumpeter class was considered an important part of city life. Musicians took part in ceremonies, played at funerals and all kinds of rituals. For flutists, this holiday was held in mid-June and lasted three days.
Among the three celestials
The Roman goddess Minerva was part of the divine trinity, which, in addition to her, included Jupiter and Juno. The ancient Romans built a beautiful temple in honor of these three deities. The Capitoline Hill became the site of a magnificent palace. The temple was erected on a high pedestal. Separate shrines were also built for the three great deities. A statue of Jupiter was placed in the temple, which was sculpted by the famous Etruscan sculptor Vulca. The architect depicted the supreme god sitting on a throne. Jupiter held a scepter and lightning in his hands. Soon, an unknown attacker set fire to the temple. It burned down, but after some time it was restored. The gable roof of the temple was covered with gilded copper. The central tympanum showed a relief view of Rome. A statue of Jupiter was placed in the center of the roof. The sculpture of the goddess Minerva was to the left of the supreme god, and Juno was to the right.
History of the Goddess
The ancient Romans believed that Minerva jumped out of the head of Jupiter. According to myths, one fine day the main Roman god began to have a severe headache. Aesculapius, who was considered a recognized healer, came to the aid of Jupiter. But even he could not help solve this problem. Jupiter suffered so much from attacks of pain that he turned to his son Vulcan with a request to cut off his head. And he agreed. Vulcan split his father's head with an ax and from there jumped out Minerva, a goddess whose history was briefly recorded in Roman myths. The celestial goddess appeared from the head of Jupiter, singing war hymns. Her body was encased in armor, and in her hands she held a shield and a sharp spear.
Images of the goddess. Her symbols
The ancient Romans began to call Minerva the goddess of wisdom. In addition, the people of Rome believed that she was a just liberator from the war. Minerva benefited the development of science. She patronized women's handicrafts and protected artists, teachers and doctors. Musicians were under the special care of the goddess. The beautiful celestial being was depicted by artists and sculptors as a young and beautiful girl, in whose hands there was a weapon, and her body was dressed in armor. Often there were snakes or owls next to the image of the goddess. After all, these creatures are considered symbols of wisdom and love of thought. Another recognizable symbol of the goddess is the olive tree. The ancient Romans claimed that it was Minerva who created it.
The role of the goddess
Minerva is a goddess who plays a very important role in Roman mythology. She gave advice to Jupiter himself, the supreme god of the Romans. In difficult times of war, Minerva armed herself with her shield with the head of Medusa the Gorgon, which bore the name Aegis, and protected innocent people who suffered. The goddess defended a just cause. She had no fear of battle, but she was not prone to bloodshed either. Minerva was contrasted with the bloodthirsty god of war, Mars. In myths, the goddess appears as a very feminine and attractive girl. But she never favored her admirers. The goddess was very proud that she had retained her virginity. The ancient Romans explained the chastity and immortality of Minerva by the fact that true wisdom is not subject to either corruption or destruction.
Sacrifices
Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and the military patroness of the ancient Roman people. This fact is confirmed by the fact that the great commanders of Rome brought her enormous gifts and sacrifices after another brilliant victory. For example, after the conquest of Macedonia, Lucius Aemilius Paulus ordered the burning of a huge part of the booty. Thus, he showed how much he was grateful to the goddess for her assistance in the conquest of Macedonia. Several other Roman generals did the same. Despite the fact that Minerva patronized people of art, as well as women whom she helped in all their works, the goddess was revered and respected by all the military people of Rome. They believed that without Minerva’s favor it would simply not be possible to win battles.
Some interesting facts
Minerva is the goddess of wisdom in the myths of the ancient Romans. She is not forgotten even today. For example, the saying “Minerva’s owl flies out at night” is still used today. It means that the best ideas come to a person at night. In 1867, an asteroid was discovered and named after the fair and wise goddess. And since 1838 in France, the profile of Minerva was depicted on all silver items as a single hallmark.
The goddess who patronized cities and the peaceful pursuits of their inhabitants was the daughter of Jupiter Minerva. Craftsmen, artists and sculptors, poets and musicians, doctors, teachers and skilled needlewomen enjoyed its special favor.
Celebrations in honor of the beautiful and wise goddess were held in the second half of March, called quinquatria and lasted five days. On the first day of the quinquatria, students were freed from classes and paid their teachers for their studies. We paused for this day...
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Zeus reigns high on bright Olympus, surrounded by a host of gods. Here are his wife Hera (Juno), and golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis (Diana), and golden Aphrodite (Venus), and the mighty daughter of Zeus Athena (Minerva), and many other gods.
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Minerva, lat. - Roman goddess, identical to the Greek.
Initially, Minerva was a virgin goddess among the Etruscans (Menva); the Romans adopted her cult, apparently, already in the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. She was revered as the goddess of wisdom, who taught people various crafts, arts and skills, including healing. Subsequently, under the influence of Greek myths and cults, Minerva was identified with Athena and proclaimed the patroness of Rome. Together with the king of the gods Jupiter and his wife Juno, Minerva made up the so-called Capitoline triad (trinity) of deities to whom the Romans gave special honors. In addition, during the Empire, she became the goddess of victory (Minerva Victrix). Celebrations in honor of Minerva were held in Rome twice a year: they lasted five days in March, three days in June.
In Rome, Minerva had several temples: on the Capitol - a common temple with Jupiter and Juno, which was supposedly dedicated to her in the first year of the Republic, i.e. in 510 BC. e.; a temple on the Esquiline Hill, dedicated to Minerva the healer, near the modern Pantheon (in its place has stood the Christian Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva since 1280); a later temple is at the Forum of Nerva (the remains of the temple were ordered to be demolished in 1606 by Pope Paul V in order to decorate it with a marble fountain on the Janiculum). Quite a few ancient statues of Minerva have survived, but their artistic level is usually low.
In the photo: Minerva McGonagall, teacher at the wizard school from the Harry Potter films
In the illustration: Minerva Orlando, the strongest mage of the Saber-Toothed Tiger guild from the world of Fairy Tail
Modern artists often did not distinguish between Minerva and Athena and, under Roman influence, preferred the name Minerva. In addition to the works of art mentioned in other articles, we will name the paintings: “Minerva” by Veronese (c. 1560, Moscow, A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts), his “Minerva and Mars” (1578), “Minerva and Mars " and "Minerva pursues Venus" by Tintoretto (1578), "Minerva" by Rembrandt (c. 1632) and "The Battle of Mars and Minerva" by David (1771), as well as the bronze "Head of Minerva" by Lombardo, created at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. , and "Minerva" in sandstone, by Brown (c. 1715, National Gallery in Prague).
In the illustration: painting: “The Battle of Mars and Minerva”, Jean-Louis David
Allegorically, Minerva is wisdom; there is a well-known popular expression: “The owl of Minerva flies out at night,” that is, the best thoughts come at night.
In the illustration: painting: “Minerva and the Muses”, Umberto Eco
Athena (Greek) Minerva (Roman) Athena goddess of wisdom, knowledge and just war, patroness of cities and states, sciences and crafts. She was one of the most revered goddesses in Greece, rivaling Zeus in importance. She was his equal in strength and wisdom. She was distinguished by her independence and was proud of the fact that she remained a virgin forever.
Genealogy. Daughter of Zeus and Metis. Zeus's favorite daughter was born by him in an amazingly sophisticated way. The goddess of reason, Metis, was to give birth to a daughter and a son of extraordinary intelligence and strength. The Moirai predicted to Zeus that he would be overthrown by her son.
To avoid this, Zeus swallowed Metis, but after a while he felt a terrible headache and ordered Hephaestus to cut off his head. The warrior Pallas Athena emerged from the split skull of Zeus in full armor with a helmet, spear and shield. Epithets. “Tritonida” or “Tritogenea” (due to its birthplace at Lake Triton in Libya), “Owl-eyed”, “Motley snake”, “Worker”, “City”, “City Defender”, “Savior”, “Brotherly”, “ Soviet".
Attributes and symbols. Olive, owl (symbol of wisdom) and snake. She was the patroness of snakes (a huge snake lived in the temple in Athens - the guardian of the Acropolis). Iconography. Athena was depicted as Pallas (the victorious warrior) or Polyada (the patroness of cities and states). From the name of Pallas comes the word “palladium” (a wooden image of Athena that had miraculous effects). The city that owned palladium was considered under the patronage of the goddess. There was a legend about the palladium kept in Troy, which said that it fell from the sky. After the Trojan War, Aeneas brought it to Rome and since then the palladium has been kept in the Temple of Vesta.
She was considered the founder of the Areopagus the highest state court of Athens, the inventor of the chariot and ship, flute and trumpet, ceramic pot, rake, plow, yoke for oxen and bridle for horses. She taught us weaving, spinning and cooking. She helped Hercules in the fight against the Stymphalian birds, the giant Geryon, Perseus in defeating the gorgon Medusa, and Prometheus in stealing fire for people.
Among the victims of Athena are the princess Arachne, who was transformed by the goddess into a spider, and Tiresias, who accidentally saw her while bathing and was blinded by the goddess for this. As a consolation, he was endowed with the gift of prophecy. In the dispute for the possession of Attica and for the right to give a name to the city (later Athens), Poseidon defeated. The dispute, which took place on the hill of Ares, was decided by twelve gods, including Zeus, whose gift to Attica was more valuable. Poseidon knocked out a salty spring from a barren rock with a trident (according to another legend, he created a horse), and Athena plunged a spear deep into the ground and a sacred olive tree grew.
Athena Campana is named after the owner of the collection in which she was located, the Marquis Campana. She is depicted in the long ceremonial robe of Greek women - peplos, over which is thrown a cloak. Worship center. In Attica, Athena was the main deity of the country and city of Athens, the patroness of the Athenians. Athens reached its greatest power and prosperity under Pericles. New buildings on the acropolis were erected in 16 years. A wide marble staircase led to the Acropolis, a rocky hill located in the center of Athens. Having climbed the stairs, the traveler approached the Propylaea - the main entrance to the acropolis. Through the Propylaea, the “road of sacred processions” opened onto a vast square, where stood a gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos (leader in battle), cast by Phidias. The shine of the goddess’s golden helmet and spear was seen by sailors who were far out to sea. Above all the buildings of the acropolis stood the Parthenon, the temple of the Virgin Athena, which was the main temple of the goddess (“Parthenos” translated from Greek as “virgin”). The entire temple, including the roof tiles, was built from white Pentelic marble. The length of the temple was 69.5 m, width 31 m, i.e. its area was more than 2 square meters. km. The building was surrounded by 40 columns 10.43 m high. In the center of the temple stood a giant statue of Athena by Phidias, covered with gold and ivory. Thin plates of ivory covered the face and hands of the goddess; the cloak, helmet and shield were made of gold. The width of the base of the statue was 8 m, the height of the statue was 12 m. In the 17th century. The Turks, who owned Greece, built a gunpowder warehouse in the Parthenon, which exploded, destroying half of the ancient temple.
Every year in August the Panathenaea (“all-Athensian”) was held, dedicated to all “directions of activity” of Athens at once. Once every four years, the Great Panathenaea was held with musical and gymnastic competitions. The celebrations began at night with a torchlight procession and ended with a festive procession of the Athenians.
The procession ascended the sacred road and entered the temple to present a peplos as a gift to Athena, a robe woven by the hands of noble Athenians from the finest expensive wool with gold embroidery. “Panathenaic amphoras” with a volume of 26 liters were prepared especially for the holiday, on which scenes of competitions and the goddess herself were depicted. An amphora filled with olive oil went to the winner of the competition. The cups awarded to winners today originate from these amphorae. The holidays of the first germination of bread, the beginning of the harvest, the giving of dew for crops, and the turning away of rain were dedicated to Athena.
Minerva goddess of war, arts, sciences and crafts, patroness of cities and the peaceful pursuits of their inhabitants. She was part of the divine Capitoline triad along with Jupiter and Juno. Genealogy. Daughter of Jupiter. The word “Capta” was added to the name of Minerva, meaning “capital” (from the Latin caput head). This emphasized that anyone who steals from her temple is responsible to the goddess with his head. Holidays in her honor were held in the second half of March and lasted five days (large quinquatria) or from June 13 and lasted three days (small quinquatria). Sacrifices: cakes, honey and oil.
The Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva, corresponds to the Greek warrior Pallas Athena. The Romans attributed their goddess of wisdom to the triad of supreme gods, Minerva, Jupiter and Juno, to whom a temple built on the Capitoline Hill was dedicated.
Roman cult of the goddess of wisdom Mineva
The cult of Minerva was widespread throughout Italy, but she was revered more as the patroness of science, crafts and. And only in Rome was she more revered as a warrior.
Quinquatria - festivities dedicated to Minerva, took place on March 19-23. On the first day of the holiday, students and schoolchildren were supposed to thank their mentors and pay for their education. On the same day, all hostilities ceased, and gifts were presented - honey, butter and cakes. On other days, gladiator fights and processions were held in honor of Minerva, and on the last day, sacrifices and the consecration of city pipes participating in various ceremonies were held. Junior quinquatria were celebrated on June 13-15. Basically it was a festival of flute players, who considered Minerva their patroness.
Minerva in Roman mythology
According to myths, the goddess Minerva emerged from the head of Jupiter. One fine day, the Roman supreme deity had a very bad headache. No one, not even the recognized healer Aesculapius, could alleviate his suffering. Then, exhausted by pain, Jupiter asked the son of Vulcan to cut off his head with an ax. As soon as the head was split open, Minerva jumped out of it, singing war hymns, in armor, with a shield and a sharp spear.
Minerva, who emerged from the head of her father, became the goddess of wisdom and a just war of liberation. In addition, Minerva patronized the development of sciences and women's handicrafts, patronized artists, poets, musicians, actors and teachers.
Artists and sculptors depicted Minerva as a young beautiful girl in military armor and holding a weapon. Very often, next to the goddess there is a snake or an owl - symbols of wisdom and love of thought. Another recognizable symbol of Minerva is the olive tree, the creation of which the Romans attributed to this goddess.
The role of Minerva in Roman mythology is very great. This goddess was an adviser to Jupiter, and when the war began, Minerva took her shield Aegis with the head of the Gorgon Medusa and went to protect those who suffered innocently, defending a just cause. Minerva was not afraid of battles, but did not welcome bloodshed, unlike the bloodthirsty god of war Mars.
According to descriptions in myths, Minerva was very feminine and attractive, but she did not favor her fans - the goddess was very proud of her virginity. Minerva's chastity and immortality were explained by the fact that true wisdom can neither be seduced nor destroyed.
Greek goddess AthenaIn Greek mythology, the goddess Minerva corresponds to Athena. She was also born from the head of the dominant god, Zeus, and was the goddess of wisdom. About the fact that the Greek goddess is older than her Roman twin, 
Many legends speak, for example, about the city of Athens.
When a magnificent city was built in the province of Attica, the supreme gods began to argue after whom it would be named. In the end, all the gods except Poseidon and Athena renounced their claims, but the two disputants could not make a decision. Then Zeus announced that the city would be named after the one who would bring him the most useful gift. Poseidon, with a blow from his trident, created a beautiful and strong horse worthy of serving the king. Athena created the olive tree and explained to people that they could use not only the fruits of this plant, but also its leaves and wood. And, in addition, the olive branch is a symbol of peace and prosperity, which is undoubtedly very important for the residents of the young city. And the city was named after the wise goddess, who also became the patroness of Athens.
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