Athena - Goddess of Wisdom - Athenaeum, Cambridge, MA
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member NorStar
N 42° 21.853 W 071° 04.711
19T E 328843 N 4692308
A golden Athena statue overlooks East Cambridge and the Charles River from her perch atop a brick building on First Street.
Waymark Code: WM6BZ1
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/11/2009
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Savoy
Views: 13

Cars passing by on Land Boulevard/First Street might catch a glint from this golden statue of the goddess Athena. If you walk along the same road, especially coming from the Cambridge Galleria, you will easily see this stately, watchful figure on top of a brick building.

This figure is on top of a building aptly named "The Athenaeum." Today, it has been made into spaces for industrial and commercial properties. It was originally built in 1895 for Athenaeum Press, which was a major publisher at the time. The company likely does not exist, today, as I found no modern references to it on the Internet. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is not clear, yet, when the statue was erected, but it could have been as early as 1895.

Athena is a major goddess in Greek mythology and figures prominently in Homer's works such as "The Iliad." She is the goddess of wisdom, and a goddess of war - taking sides on those who are defending their homeland. In Greece, the Parthenon in Athens was in her honor.

Sources:

Encyclopedia for Athena:

(visit link)

Boston Business Journal Article about the Building (for sale in 2007):

(visit link)

Wikipedia Entry about the building:

(visit link)
Time Period: Ancient

Approximate Date of Epic Period: 800 BCE

Epic Type: Mythical

Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art

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