CHAPTER III. 



THE OWL AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 



A S Jove assumed the shape of an Eagle, so Juno selected 

 that of an Owl, for, as Aldrovandus tells us, it was not 

 decorous that the queen of heaven should take on herself 

 the likeness of any small or vulgar bird, but rather that 

 she should be embodied in one whose reign by night was 

 equal with that of the eagle by day. The owl has usually 

 been regarded as a bird of ill omen, and superstitiously 

 considered a messenger of woe. The Athenians alone 

 among the ancients seem to have been free from this 

 popular prejudice, and to have regarded the owl with 

 veneration rather than abhorrence, considering it as the 

 favourite of Minerva, and the image of wisdom. The 

 Romans viewed the owl with detestation and dread. By 

 them it was held sacred to Proserpine : its appearance 

 foreboded unfortunate events, and, according to Pliny, the 

 city of Rome underwent a solemn lustration in conse- 

 quence of an owl having accidentally strayed into the 

 Capitol. 



