Minerva - Heidelberg, BW, Germany
N 49° 24.887 E 008° 42.568
32U E 478926 N 5473607
On the northern end of the famous old bridge in Heidelberg, there is a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva (Greek Athena)
Waymark Code: WMW8HE
Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Date Posted: 07/24/2017
Views: 2
At the northern end of the bridge there is a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva (Greek: Athena). The goddess of wisdom is depicted with her usual attributes - helmet, lance, shield and owl. The Minerva monument is surrounded by four allegorical figures. These represent the incarnations of justice (Iustitia), piety (Pietas), agriculture (Ceres) and trade (Mercurius).
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Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She was born of Metis, who had been swallowed by Jupiter, and burst from her father's head, fully armed and clad in armor. After impregnating the titaness Metis, Jupiter recalled a prophecy that his own child would overthrow him.
Fearing that their child would grow stronger than he was and rule the Heavens in his place, Jupiter swallowed Metis whole. The titaness gave birth to Minerva nonetheless and forged weapons and armor for her child while within Jupiter's body. The constant pounding and ringing gave him a headache. To relieve the pain, Vulcan used a hammer to split Jupiter's head and, from the cleft, Minerva emerged, whole, adult, and bearing her mother's weapons and armor.
From the second century BC onward, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the "owl of Minerva", which symbolised her association with wisdom and knowledge.