A small nocturnal bird long associated with Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, has made the ancient ruins of Pompeii its year-round home, archaeological park officials said. The little owl, known scientifically as Athene noctua, has symbolized wisdom since antiquity and now roams the site after dusk, hunting among the silent stone walls where Roman life once thrived.
The bird measures about 21 to 23 centimeters (8.3 to 9.1 inches) long, with a wingspan reaching 60 centimeters (23.6 inches). It has large yellow eyes, a rounded head, and no ear tufts. Its feathers are brown with white spots on top and white with dark streaks underneath.
Officials describe the owl as a skilled hunter. Its sharp hearing and ability to rotate its head fully help it spot prey easily. The bird mainly eats insects, though it also feeds on small mammals, reptiles, and other birds. Like other owls, it swallows prey whole and later coughs up the indigestible parts, such as fur, feathers, and bones, in small pellets.
Greek goddess Athena’s owl returns to Pompeii’s ruins
The owl nests between March and June, choosing gaps in rocks, trees, or the walls of old buildings. Humans have viewed the bird differently across history. Ancient Egyptians saw its call as a sign of death.
The Greeks held the opposite view, connecting the bird to the goddess Athena and treating it as a symbol of wisdom. Its image appeared on the ancient drachma coin and later returned on the modern one euro coin after Greece adopted the euro.
Pompeii’s fresco preserves an ancient legacy
The bird’s reputation worsened during the Middle Ages. Hunters used it to lure small songbirds, since other birds often react when they spot the owl guarding its territory from a high perch during the day. That practice gave rise to an old saying describing someone easily fooled as a target for trickery.
Today, experts say views are shifting again. They now recognize the owl’s role in controlling populations of rodents and large insects.
Visitors to Pompeii can already see the bird honored in artwork. A fresco inside the House of the Menander depicts the owl, preserving its ancient symbolism within the site it now inhabits.
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