Owl of Athena Owl of Athena In Greek mythology, a little owl ("Athene noctua") traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, or Minerva, her syncretic incarnation in Roman mythology. Because of such association, the bird — often referred to as the "owl of Athena" or the "owl of Minerva" — has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western world. The reasons for the association of Athena and the owl are uncertain. Some mythographers, such as David Kinsley and Martin P. Nilsson, suggest that she may descend from a Minoan palace goddess associated with
Jason (given name) Jason (given name) Jason is a common given name for a male. It comes from Greek (), meaning "healer", from the verb (), "heal", "cure", cognate with , "Iasō", the goddess of healing and , "iatros", "healer", "physician". Forms of related words have been attested in Greek from as far back as Mycenaen (in Linear B) and Arcadocypriot (in the Cypriot syllabary) Greek: , "i-ja-te" and "i-ja-te-ra-ne", respectively, both regarded as standing for inflected forms of , "healer". The name was borne in Greek mythology by Jason, the great Thessalian hero who led the Argonauts in the quest for the