Минерва: Римская богиня мудрости и войны

Roman goddess of wisdom
the Roman goddess

Minerva (/m//ə/'/n//ɝ//v//ə/; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Beginning in the second century BC, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva is one of the three Roman deities in the Capitoline Triad, along with Jupiter and Juno. Minerva is a virgin goddess. Her domain includes music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. Minerva is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named the "owl of Minerva". which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge, as well as, less frequently, the snake and the olive tree. Minerva is commonly depicted as tall with an athletic and muscular build. She is often wearing armour and carrying a spear. As an important Roman goddess, she is highly revered, honored, and respected. Marcus Terentius Varro considered her to be ideal and the plan for the universe personified.

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.

The myth of Minerva's birth follows that of Athena. In it, Minerva was borne of Metis, who had been swallowed by Jupiter, and burst from her father's head, fully armed and clad in armour. Jupiter had sex with the titaness Metis, which resulted in her attempting to change shape (or shapeshift) to escape him. Jupiter then recalled the prophecy that his own child would overthrow him, as he had Saturn, and in turn, Saturn had Caelus. Fearing that their child would be male, and would grow stronger than he was and rule the Heavens in his place, Jupiter swallowed Metis whole after tricking her into turning herself into a fly. The Titaness gave birth to Minerva and forged weapons and armour for her child while within Jupiter's body. In some versions of the story, Metis continued to live inside of Jupiter's mind as the source of his wisdom. Others say she was simply a vessel for the birth of Minerva. The constant pounding and ringing left Jupiter with agonizing pain. To relieve the pain, Vulcan used a hammer to split Jupiter's head and, from the cleft, Minerva emerged, whole, adult, and in full battle armour.

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 resulting from a competition between Minerva and Neptune, in which Minerva created the olive tree.

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.

During Roman rule, Minerva became equated with the Celtic goddess Sulis, to the degree where their names were used both together and interchangeably. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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 Minneapolis Central Library, rendered in 1889 by Jakob Fjelde. 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. 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. 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'. 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. Minerva also features on the University of Alabama's seal.