bring owls to Athens

English

WOTD – 3 May 2007

Alternative forms

carry owls to Athens

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας (glaûk' eis Athḗnas). The owl, which roosted in the rafters of the old Parthenon (the one burnt by Xerxes I), was the symbol of the city of Athens, and was sacred to its patron goddess, Athena. It was featured on Athens’ silver coins, and as Athens both mined its own silver and minted its own coins, bringing owls (either the real birds, or the coins) to Athens would be pointless.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bɹɪŋ ˈaʊlz tu ˈæ.θɪnz/
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Verb

bring owls to Athens (third-person singular simple present brings owls to Athens, present participle bringing owls to Athens, simple past and past participle brought owls to Athens)

(idiomatic) To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical.
- 414 BC, Aristophanes; Ian C. Johnston (translator into English), The Birds‎:
  Euelpides: Who brings owls to Athens?
- 1832 March 17, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Louis H. Gray (translator into English), Letter to Wilhelm von Humboldt‎:
  Forgive me, then, for bringing owls to Athens as a thanks-offering.
- 1996 June 27, Herbert Burkert, “Access To Public Information: A Key To Commercial Growth And Electronic Democracy”, in parliamentary debates‎, Stockholm:
  Perhaps we have not been sufficiently aware that talking about access and its implications in Scandinavia is like bringing owls to Athens.
Synonym: carry coals to Newcastle

Translations

to undertake a pointless venture — see carry coals to Newcastle