Minerva
Minerva | |
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Goddess of poetry, medicine, commerce, weaving, the crafts, and wisdom | |
Member of the JupiterMetis | |
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Athena |
Etruscan equivalent | Menrva |
Canaanite equivalent | Anat[1] |
Egyptian equivalent | Neith |
Celtic equivalent | Brigantia |
Religion in ancient Rome |
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Practices and beliefs |
Priesthoods |
Deities |
Deified leaders: |
Related topics |
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Minerva (
She was the
Etymology
The name Minerva stems from Proto-Italic *meneswo ("intelligent, understanding"), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *menos ("thought"). Helmut Rix (1981) and Gerhard Meiser (1998) have proposed the PIE derivative *menes-ueh₂ ("provided with a mind, intelligent") as the transitional form.[8]
Origin
Following the Greek myths around Athena, she was born of
Presence in mythology
Minerva is a prominent figure in Roman mythology. She appears in many famous myths. Many of the stories of her Greek counterpart Athena are attributed to Minerva in Roman mythology, such as that of the naming of Athens[10] resulting from a competition between Minerva and Neptune,[11] in which Minerva created the olive tree.[2]
Minerva and Arachne
Minerva and Medusa
Medusa was once a beautiful human, a priestess of Minerva. Later on, Minerva found out that Neptune and Medusa were kissing in a temple dedicated to Minerva herself. Because of this Minerva turned her into a monster, replacing her hair with hissing snakes and removing her charm. Medusa turned any living creature she looked upon into stone. When Perseus approached Medusa he used her reflection in his shield to avoid contact with her eyes, and then beheaded her.[10] He delivered the severed head to Minerva, who placed its image on her Aegis.[2]
Taming of Pegasus
When Perseus beheaded Medusa some of the blood spilled onto the ground, and from it came Pegasus. Minerva caught the horse and tamed it before gifting the horse to the Muses. It was a kick from the hoof of Pegasus that opened the fountain Hippocrene.[11] When Bellerophon later went to fight the Chimera he sought to use Pegasus in the fight. In order to do this he slept in Minerva's temple, and she came to him with a golden bridle. When Pegasus saw Bellerophon with the bridle the horse immediately allowed Bellerophon to mount, and they defeated the Chimera.[2]
Turning Aglauros to stone
Metamorphoses by Ovid tell the story of Minerva and Aglauros. When Mercury comes to seduce mortal virgin Herse, her sister Aglauros is driven by her greed to help him. Minerva discovers this and is furious with Aglauros. She seeks the assistance of Envy, who fills Aglauros with so much envy for the good fortune of others that she turns to stone. Mercury fails to seduce Herse.[11]
Minerva and Hercules
Minerva assisted the hero Hercules. In Hyginus' Fabulae she is said to have helped him kill the Hydra (30.3).[10]
Minerva and Ulysses
Minerva assisted the hero Ulysses. Hyginus describes in his work Fabulae that Minerva changes Odysseus' appearance in order to protect and assist him multiple times (126).[10]
Inventing the flute
Minerva is thought to have invented the flute by piercing holes into boxwood. She enjoyed the music, but became embarrassed by how it made her face look when her cheeks puffed out to play. Because of this she threw it away and it landed on a riverbank where it was found by a satyr.[12]
Worship in Rome and Italy
The Romans celebrated her festival from March 19 to March 23 during the day that is called, in the neuter plural,
As Minerva Medica, she was the goddess of medicine and physicians. As Minerva Achaea, she was worshipped at
According to the Acta Arvalia, a cow was sacrificed to Minerva on October 13 58 AD along with many other sacrifices to celebrate the anniversary of Nero coming to power. On January 3 81 AD, as a part of the New Year vows, two cows were sacrificed to Minerva (among many others) to secure the well-being of the emperor Titus, Domitian Caesar, Julia Augusta, and their children. On January 3 87 AD there is again record of a cow being sacrificed to Minerva among the many sacrifices made as a part of the New Year vows.[18]
In Fasti III, Ovid called her the "goddess of a thousand works"[14] due to all of the things she was associated with. Minerva was worshipped throughout Italy, and when she eventually became equated with the Greek goddess Athena, she also became a goddess of battle. Unlike Mars, god of war, she was sometimes portrayed with sword lowered, in sympathy for the recent dead, rather than raised in triumph and battle lust. In Rome her bellicose nature was emphasized less than elsewhere.[19]
According to Livy's History of Rome (7.3), the annual nail marking the year, a process where the praetor maximus drove a nail in to formally keep track of the current year, happened in the temple of Minerva because she was thought to have invented numbers.[20][21]
There is archaeological evidence to suggest that Minerva was worshipped not only in a formal civic fashion, but also by individuals on a more personal level.[21]
Roman coinage
Minerva is featured on the coinage of different Roman emperors. She often is represented on the reverse side of a coin holding an owl and a spear among her attributes.[22]
Worship in Roman Britain
During the Roman occupation of Britain, it was common for carpenters to own tools ornamented with images of Minerva to invoke a greater amount of protection from the goddess of crafts. Some women would also have images of her on accessories such as hairpins or jewellery. She was even featured on some funerary art on coffins and signet rings.[23]
Bath
During Roman rule, Minerva became equated with the Celtic goddess Sulis, to the degree where their names were used both together and interchangeably.[23] She was believed to preside over the healing hot springs located in Bath.[24] Though Minerva is not a water deity, her association with intellectual professions as Minerva Medica she could also be thought of as a healing goddess, the epigraphic evidence present makes it clear that this is how Minerva was thought of in Bath.[24]
Some of the archaeological evidence present in Bath leads scholars to believe that it was thought Minerva could provide full healing from things such as rheumatism via the hot springs if she was given full credit for the healing.[23]
The temple of Sulis Minerva was known for having a miraculous altar-fire that burned coal as opposed to the traditional wood.[23]
Carrawburgh
There is evidence of worship of Minerva Medica in Carrawburgh due to archaeological evidence such as a relief depicting her and Aesculapius.[24]
Chester
There is a shrine dedicated to Minerva in Edgar's Field built in the face of a quarry next to the River Dee.
Etruscan Menrva
Stemming from an Italic moon goddess *Meneswā ('She who measures'), the
By a process of
The Etruscan Menrva was part of a holy
of Jupiter-Juno-Minerva.Modern depictions and references of Minerva
Universities and educational establishments
As a patron goddess of wisdom, Minerva frequently features in statuary, as an image on seals, and in other forms at educational institutions. Listings of this can be found on Minerva in the emblems of educational establishments.
Societies and governments
- The Seal of California depicts the Goddess Minerva. Her birth fully-grown parallels California becoming a state without first being a territory.[25]
- The U.S Military Medal of Honor for the Army, Navy/Marine Corps, and Coast Guard depicts Minerva in the center of it. The Air Force uses the head of the Statue of Liberty instead. [26]
- According to John Robison's Proofs of a Conspiracy (1798), the third degree of the Bavarian Illuminati was called Minerval or Brother of Minerva, in honor of the goddess of learning. Later, this title was adopted for the first initiation of Aleister Crowley's OTO rituals.
- Minerva Hospital for Women and Children is a first-class hospital in Chengdu, China.
- The Max Planck Society, association of research institutes mainly in Germany.
- Minerva appears in the logo of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and other educational institutions in Brazil.
Public monuments, and places
- A statue of Minerva is the center of the Pioneer Monument in San Francisco's Civic Center created by Frank Happersberger in 1894.
- A small Roman shrine to Minerva stands in Handbridge, Chester. It sits in a public park, overlooking the River Dee.
- An imposing bronze statue of Minerva stands on the rooftop of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain.[27]
- A statue to Minerva was designed by John Charles Felix Rossi to adorn the Town Hall of Liverpool, where it has stood since 1799. It remains extant and was restored as part of the 2014 renovations conducted by the city.[28][29]
- The Minerva Roundabout in Guadalajara, Mexico, located at the crossing of the López Mateos, Vallarta, López Cotilla, Agustín Yáñez, and Golfo de Cortez avenues, features the goddess standing on a pedestal, surrounded by a large fountain, with an inscription that says "Justice, wisdom and strength guard this loyal city".
- A bronze statue of Minerva stands in Monument Square (Portland, Maine). "Our Lady of Victories Monument" dedicated in 1891, features a 14-feet-tall bronze figure by Franklin Simmons atop a granite pedestal with smaller bronze sculptures by Richard Morris Hunt.[30][31]
- A sculpture of Minerva by Andy Scott, known as the Briggate Minerva, stands outside Trinity Leeds shopping centre.
- Minerva is displayed as a statue in Pavia, Italy, near the train station, and is considered as an important landmark in the city.
- Minerva is displayed as a cast bronze statue in the Jakob Fjelde.[32]
- Minerva is displayed as a bronze statue in Frederick Ruckstull's 1920 Altar to Liberty: Minerva monument near the top of Battle Hill, the highest point of Brooklyn, New York, in Green-Wood Cemetery.
- Minerva is displayed as an 11-ft statue in Jean-Antonin Carlès's 1895 "James Gordon Bennett Memorial" in New York City's Herald Square.[33]
- A statue of Minerva is displayed at Wells College outside of Main Building. Each year, the senior class decorates Minerva at the beginning of the fall semester. Minerva remains decorated throughout the school year; then during the morning of the last day of classes and after singing around the Sycamore tree, the senior class takes turns kissing the feet of Minerva, believed to be good luck and bring success and prosperity to all graduation seniors.[34][35][36]
- A statue of Minerva stands atop the Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. There is also a mosaic tile of Minerva in the foyer of the building as well as a whole theatre name after her, called the 'Minerva Space'.[37]
- A bronze statue of Minerva stands on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina. It was commissioned in 2003 by the Class of 1953 and created by sculptor James Barnhill.
- A statue of Minerva releasing an owl stands at Manderson Landing Park in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The statue was gifted by the University of Alabama to the community in 2019 as a commemoration of the City of Tuscaloosa's bicentennial year.[38] Minerva also features on the University of Alabama's seal.
Literature
She is remembered in De Mulieribus Claris, a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in 1361–62. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature.[39] Poet Elizabeth Carter is famously portrayed in an outfit inspired by Minerva, and also wrote poems in her honour.
References
- ^ L. Day 1999, p. 39.
- ^ OCLC 1028955021.
- Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215.
- ISBN 0-87023-886-8.
- Philosophy of Right(1820), "Preface"
- PMID 20096932.
- )
- ^ de Vaan 2008, pp. 380–381.
- ^ Encarta World English Dictionary 1998–2004 Microsoft Corporation.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87220-820-9.
- ^ OCLC 1007036859.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ a b "OVID, FASTI BOOK 6 - Theoi Classical Texts Library". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- ISBN 9780203643518.
- ^ a b "OVID, FASTI BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- ^ "Suetonius, Life of Domitian 4". lexundria.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- ^ Aristotle Mirab. Narrat. 117
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Achaea (2)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2005-07-10. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Gradel, Ittai (2002). Emperor worship and Roman religion. New York: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Mark Cartwright. "Minerva". World History Encyclopedia.
- OCLC 991483377.
- ^ OCLC 974037540.
- ^ "American Numismatic Society: Browse Collection". Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ^ a b c d Henig, Martin (1984). Religion in Roman Britain. London: Batsford.
- ^ .
- ^ "California State Symbols". California State Library. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
- ^ "Three Medals of Honor". National Medal of Honor Museum. 16 July 2018.
- ^ Carriazo, Inés; Vasco Campos, Aurora (July 2017). "Visita a las azoteas de Madrid: cuando los tejados se convierten en las mejores terrazas". El Confidencial.
- ISBN 9780853237112.
- ^ Elson, Peter (2014-10-14). "Liverpool Town Hall's Minerva statue restored to heavenly condition". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "Our Lady of Victories (The Portland Sailors and Soldiers Monument)". Public Art Portland. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Maine Civil War Monuments: Portland (Monument Square)". Maine.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Minerva". Hennepin County Library.
- ^ "Herald Square Monuments - James Gordon Bennett Memorial : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org.
- ^ "minerva | Search Results | Wellsipedia". wellsipedia.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ^ Citizen, Erik Sorensen / Special to The. "Wells College to graduate its first males this weekend". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ^ "Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - All are welcome to visit for tours, cultural events and exhibitions". Ballarat Mechanics Institute. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ "Bicentennial Sculpture at Manderson Landing – Building Bama | The University of Alabama". Buildingbama.ua.edu. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ISBN 0-674-01130-9.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9789004167971.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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