---
title: Statue of Athena
author: Jan van der Crabben
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17741/statue-of-athena/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2023-08-16
---

# Statue of Athena

_Authored by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/)_

## Image File

[![Statue of Athena](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/17741.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/17741.jpg)

## Image Caption

Marble statue of [Athena](https://www.worldhistory.org/athena/), found in [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/), made in the 1st century CE. The ancient [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) goddess of [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) and wisdom was also known as [Minerva](https://www.worldhistory.org/Minerva/) to the Romans. She had dominion over various aspects of public life, including the military, justice, politics, and the arts.

In this particular depiction of Athena, she is portrayed wearing a helmet and a heavy robe. Her contemplative pose represents her role as a martial deity who values intellect and strategy over brute force. The breastplate she wears is adorned with the head of [Medusa](https://www.worldhistory.org/Medusa/), symbolizing Athena's ability to [conquer](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) evil. Originally, this statue would have held a spear and possibly a figure of [Nike](https://www.worldhistory.org/nike/), the goddess of victory, but it was later replaced with an owl.

Photographed in the British Museum, London, on loan by the National Museums Liverpool, World Museum.

#### Editorial Review

This human-authored image 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/).

## About the Author

Jan is the Founder & Chairman of World History Encyclopedia and is the organisation's Director of Design & Technology. He holds an MA War Studies from King's College, and he has worked in the field of history-related digital media since 2006.
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/janvdc)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Crabben, J. v. d. (2023, August 16). Statue of Athena. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17741/statue-of-athena/>
### Chicago
Crabben, Jan van der. "Statue of Athena." *World History Encyclopedia*, August 16, 2023. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17741/statue-of-athena/>.
### MLA
Crabben, Jan van der. "Statue of Athena." *World History Encyclopedia*, 16 Aug 2023, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17741/statue-of-athena/>.

## License & Copyright

Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 16 August 2023. 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.