Penelope and the little owls bag

Penelope (in Greek Πηνελόπη) was the wife of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, the main character Homer’s Odyssey. She is known for her patience and fidelity, as she waited 20 years for the return of her husband, steadfastly deflecting the 108 suitors asking her hand in marriage. She used many tricks to delay her suitors expectations. One of which was to weave a burial shroud for Odysseus’s elderly father declaring she will choose a suitor when this task has finished. But every night she would partly undo the work she done during the day.

In Greek mythology, the owl (Athene Noctua) was one of the attributes of Athena (in Greek Αθηνά), goddess of wisdom, art and science. It became naturally the symbol of Athens (as Athina was the patroness of the city). The association between the goddess and the bird dates way back and Athina was very often represented with the owl perched on her arm. Athenian reproduced this little owl on their vases, merchant weights, some amphoreas (winner’s reward to the Panathenaic Games) and on ancient greek silver coins (the Tetradrachm). You can still find its representation on the Greek one-euro coin!