| Free Indeed - Part 2 : Who is Minerva and What is She Doing in My Library? From 1991-1994 I worked as a librarian at the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. I was seriously away from the Lord at the time. However, even with spiritual blinders on, I realized right away that the Great Hall of the beautiful Jefferson Building was designed as a temple to Minerva. A mosaic of her holds the central place of honor, and there are twinned statues of her in war and in peace around the columns. At the time, I rationalized this away. After all, I thought, she is the Roman goddess of Wisdom. This is the largest library in the world; it's just a "classical figure" representing the principle of wisdom. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Here are some views of her images in the Library of Congress: Color close up of mosaic: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Classics/classical_traditions/Library%20of%20Congress/image24.htm Mosaic in situ: http://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/wa026001.jpg Statues of Minerva of War and Minerva of Peace: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Classics/classical_traditions/Library%20of%20Congress/image22.htm http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Classics/classical_traditions/Library%20of%20Congress/image23.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More recently, restored to the Lord and involved in spiritual mapping, I started to research the history, art and architecture of the U.S. Capitol. Images of Minerva recurred with alarming regularity. I also discovered that, like the Library of Congress, the main Temple to Minerva in Rome was on the Capitoline Hill. This temple served a false-trinity of Roman false gods, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Another temple to Minerva stood on the Aventine Hill. These Roman temples are no longer standing, but over the ruins of one of them was built a church dedicated to Mary and still called to this day Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Saint Mary Over Minerva). This church is in close proximity to the ancient Roman Pantheon, still standing but now used as a church, also dedicated to Mary. The parallel with Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. Capitol Building was modeled on the Roman Pantheon, is striking. Outside of each of these churches in Rome stands an ancient Egyptian Obelisk, two of the thirteen which stand in Modern Rome today. Church of Saint Mary Over Minerva: http://home.online.no/~cnyborg/mariaminerva.html Church of Saint Mary and All Martyrs (housed in ancient Roman Pantheon): http://home.online.no/~cnyborg/mariamartyres_pantheon.html Location of Egyptian Obelisks in front of churches and at other locations in Modern Rome: http://members.aol.com/Sokamoto31/obelisk.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Minerva is the Roman false goddess of wisdom, defensive war, science, the arts, and civilization. Though she is thought to have her origin in the Etruscan false goddess Minrva, she is also strongly identified with the Greek Athena, and shares many characteristics and elements of her deceptive story with her. In the Greek version, Zeus was concerned about a prophecy that one of his many sexual conquests, Metis (false goddess of wisdom) would have a son who would be greater than he. His solution was to swallow Metis. But she was in fact pregnant with a daughter, Athena. Metis began to craft a helmet and robe for Athena. The pounding of the helmet being crafted gave Zeus an Olympic sized headache. All the Olympian gods tried to relieve his headache, but nothing worked. Finally Hephaestus (Vulcan) used his ax to hack Zeus' head open, and Athena sprang forth fully formed. Note that her helmet is referred to as the "helmet of knowledge," in direct opposition to the "helmet of salvation." This is especially important as Athena became the patron false goddess of the city of Athens, and as her spirit continues to this day to exalt itself above the wisdom of God (Jesus Christ and Him crucified). Athena is usually pictured wearing her helmet, and also with a sword and shield. She sometimes has two shields. One of them is known as the aegis, and has special powers in warfare. It is made of goatskin, surrounded by snakes, and has the head of Medusa on the front. The weapons and armor of Athena/Minerva are in direct opposition to the armor and weapons of spiritual warfare as described in Ephesians. Both Athena and Minerva are often pictured with an owl, symbol of this false goddess and by association symbol of wisdom in Western Civilization. About the aegis, with illustrations from antiquity: http://www.uncg.edu/cla/athenaaegis.htm http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/athena.html About Medusa: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Medusa1.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This brings us to the fountain outside the Library of Congress, which features Neptune (Poseidon), his son Triton, and various sea nymphs: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Classics/classical_traditions/Library%20of%20Congress/image21.htm Neptune, brother of Zeus, and thus Athena's uncle, challenged Athena to a contest to see who could give the most useful gift to humankind. In various versions of the story, Neptune's gift is either a spring that issues forth salty water, or the horse. Athena, however, gave the olive tree. The other false gods judged the contest and Athena won hands down. As the prize, she was given the city that consequently bore her name, Athens. Athena as patroness of the city of Athens is key to the reign of the Athena/Minerva spirit in Western Civilization. As such she is often considered to be the patroness of all cities. She is certainly the patroness of philosophy, whose western form was born in the city of Athens. The very roots of the word philosophy (philo-love sophia-- wisdom) speak to her influence as false goddess of wisdom, especially when considered in light of her helmet of knowledge. The Apostle Paul's experience in Athens comes to mind, especially his sermon on Mars Hill, as well as this verse from Colossians: See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Free Indeed - Part 3 : What Were They Thinking? Free Indeed - Home |
