Great Seal of California Great Seal of California The Great Seal of the State of California was adopted at the California state Constitutional Convention of 1849 and has undergone minor design changes since then, the last being the standardization of the seal in 1937. The seal shows the Roman goddess Minerva (Athena in Greek mythology), the goddess of wisdom and war, because she was born an adult, and California was never a territory; a California grizzly bear (the official state animal) feeding on grape vines, representing California's wine production; a sheaf of grain, representing agriculture; a miner, representing the California Gold Rush and the
Palaestra (mythology) Palaestra (mythology) In Greek mythology, Palaestra (Παλαίστρα) was a name attributed to two characters, who were both associated with the god Hermes: one was a mortal lover of Hermes, whereas the other was considered his daughter and a goddess of wrestling. Myths concerning both provided an etiology for the Greek word for wrestling school, "palaestra". According to a story recorded by Servius, Palaestra was a daughter of the Arcadian king Choricus, and sister to Plexippus and Enetus. Her two brothers would wrestle each other, and their father, finding the sight of them wrestling to be of aesthetic value, made it