CHAPTER III. 
THE OWL AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 
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. 
