bring owls to athens

English - English

Definition of bring owls to athens in English English dictionary

To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical

Hyphenation

bring owls to Ath·ens

Turkish pronunciation

brîng aulz tı äthınz

Synonyms

coals to newcastle

Pronunciation

/ˈbrəɴɢ ˈoulz tə ˈaᴛʜənz/ /ˈbrɪŋ ˈaʊlz tə ˈæθənz/

Etymology

() A calque of the Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ’ εἰς Ἀθήνας (glauk’ eis Athēnās). 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.