---
title: Minerva
author: Mark Cartwright
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Minerva/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2023-07-14
---
# Minerva
_Authored by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/)_
Minerva was the [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) goddess of wisdom, [medicine](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/medicine/), commerce, handicrafts, poetry, the arts in general, and later, [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/). In many ways similar to the [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) goddess [Athena](https://www.worldhistory.org/athena/), she had important temples in [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/) and was patron of the Quinquatras festival.
Originally, Minerva was an Italian goddess of handicrafts closely associated to the Greek goddess Athena. The scholarly consensus, however, is that Minerva was indigenous, passing to the Romans from the [Etruscan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Etruscan_Civilization/) goddess Menrva, and that her name derives from *meminisse*, meaning 'to remember'. Considered the daughter of [Jupiter](https://www.worldhistory.org/jupiter/), from whose head she was born, the goddess was first worshipped in Rome as one of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and [Juno](https://www.worldhistory.org/Juno/). In legend, the great hero [Aeneas](https://www.worldhistory.org/Aeneas/), who escaped from fallen [Troy](https://www.worldhistory.org/troy/), brought a cult statue of the goddess to Rome. Residing within the [Temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) of [Vesta](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vesta/) it was believed that the [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) would be safe from harm as long as the statue was preserved. Like Athena, the goddess was renowned for her chastity, and she once famously refused the amorous advances of [Mars](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mars/), the [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) of war.
Minerva is the protagonist in one of the most famous stories presented in [Ovid](https://www.worldhistory.org/ovid/)'s *Metamorphoses*. In the myth, a Lydian girl named [Arachne](https://www.worldhistory.org/Arachne/) unwisely boasts that her weaving skills are even better than Minerva's. The great goddess was not best pleased to hear such claims and she promptly challenged the presumptuous Arachne to a weaving competition. Settling down at their respective looms the two ladies each set about creating a wonderful tapestry that would outshine their rival's best efforts. Minerva's masterpiece showed all the great gods and had Minerva herself taking centre-stage in the act of winning the competition with [Poseidon](https://www.worldhistory.org/poseidon/) to become patron of [Athens](https://www.worldhistory.org/Athens/). Even more ominously for Arachne the edges of the tapestry depicted all those mortals who had infamously challenged the gods and come a serious cropper. Meanwhile, Arachne's less pious work displayed various gods taking on different forms so that they could seduce unsuspecting mortals. The work itself was a truly magnificent piece of weaving but, perhaps predictably, Minerva, nevertheless, declared herself the winner and punished Arachne for her audacity by hitting her on the head three times and changing her into a spider. It is another cautionary tale, so common in Greek and [Roman mythology](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Mythology/), of how unwise it is for mortals to consider themselves the equals of the gods.
Perhaps the most important site of worship of Minerva was on the Aventine where a shrine was built in either 263 or 262 BCE. This particular incarnation of the goddess - Aventine Minerva - was of Greek origin and the site was also the location of a writers and actors guild and an important centre for craftsmen. The goddess also had a shrine on mons Caelius, one of the seven hills of Rome.
[  Minerva Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2205/minerva/ "Minerva")Over time, Minerva grew in stature within the Roman [pantheon](https://www.worldhistory.org/Pantheon/) and she took over as the most important focus of the Quinquatrus festival, previously the domain of Mars. The five-day festival began on the 19th of March and marked the beginning of the campaign season for the [Roman army](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Army/). The goddess also became associated with victory, as illustrated by [Pompey](https://www.worldhistory.org/pompey/)'s dedication of a temple to the goddess following his successful campaigns in the east. The emperor [Domitian](https://www.worldhistory.org/domitian/) also claimed the goddess was his special protectress and he commissioned a temple to her in the [Nerva](https://www.worldhistory.org/Nerva/) Forum in Rome in the second half of the 1st century CE.
One of the most impressive representations of Minerva in art is the 3 metre high statue of the goddess which now resides in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Dating to the 2nd century BCE, the standing figure wears a chiton and belt, an aegis with [Medusa](https://www.worldhistory.org/Medusa/), carries a shield on her left arm and wears a Corinthian helmet pushed to the back of the head. The statue, which owes much in composition to the colossal chryselephantine statue of Athena that Pheidias sculpted for the [Parthenon](https://www.worldhistory.org/parthenon/) in the 5th century BCE, presents the goddess in her familiar guise as a noble and fearless warrior.
#### Editorial Review
This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).
## Bibliography
- Giustozzi, N. *The Capitoline Museums.* Electa, Milan, 2012
- [Graziosi, B. *The Gods of Olympus.* Metropolitan Books, 2014.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0805091572/)
- [Hornblower, S. *The Oxford Classical Dictionary.* Oxford University Press, USA, 2012.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199545561/)
- [National Geographic. *National Geographic Essential Visual History of World Mythology.* National Geographic, 2008.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/142620373X/)
- [Ovid Metamorphoses](http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.html "Ovid Metamorphoses"), accessed 1 Dec 2016.
## About the Author
Mark is WHE’s Publishing Director and has an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York). He is a full-time researcher, writer, historian and editor. Special interests include art, architecture and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share.
## Timeline
- **c. 263 BCE**: A shrine is dedicated to [Minerva](https://www.worldhistory.org/Minerva/) on the Aventine in [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/).
## Cite This Work
### APA
Cartwright, M. (2014, January 07). Minerva. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Cartwright, Mark. "Minerva." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 07, 2014. .
### MLA
Cartwright, Mark. "Minerva." *World History Encyclopedia*, 07 Jan 2014, .
## License & Copyright
Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 07 January 2014. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.