Although Minerva, the Roman goddess of war and wisdom, is usually portrayed as equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena, she was originally an Etruscan goddess of dawn. She is revered as a goddess of wisdom, for the light of dawn typifies knowledge. She guides heroes in war and is patroness of all arts, crafts, guilds, and medicine. Called by Ovid “the goddess of a thousand works,” she was the inventor of musical instruments, numbers, and many crafts, including weaving. The serpent and the owl were sacred to her. The serpent is an emblem of life energy and the creative impulse. The owl is a symbol of death and wisdom, and thus Minerva, a goddess of the dawn and of wisdom, is also a goddess of death and transformation.
Minerva is an incarnation of wisdom in human form, an affirmation that we can use our knowledge and wisdom in the pursuit of any goal we choose.
Our beautiful global goddess images are drawn each month from the Goddesses Knowledge Cards, painted by Susan Seddon Boulet with text by Michael Babcock. The deck of 48 cards can be ordered from Pomegrate Communications in Petaluma, California. (We are not affiliated with Pomegranate in any way, we just love these cards!)
Hmm. Well, she’s usually depicted as having human form, as were many if not most of the Greek and Roman divinities. Though of course she is actually a goddess!
‘Minerva is an incarnation of wisdom in human form’
Er, NO—she’s not—she’s a goddess—for God’s sake!