Ancient Goddesses in New York

About Athena in Herald Square

"In 1895, when pocket watches and wristwatches were still luxury items, the clock atop the new two-story Renaissance-style Herald Building at Thirty-Fifth and Broadway rang the hours for workers in the neighborhood. Under the Greek goddess Athena's imperious gaze, Stuff and Guff (also known as Gog and Magog) swing a mallet at a bell, atop which sits an owl."

"Athena was chosen for the Herald's clock not because she signifies wisdom or war, but because she's often accompanied by an owl. The younger James Gordon Bennett adored owls. Even the Herald's masthead sported an owl. The cornice of the Herald Building was ringed with owls whose eyes blinked an eerie green through the New York nights. After the Herald Building was demolished in 1921 and a new architectural setting was created for Athena and her henchmen, two of the owls were positioned on either side of it. Look for their blinking eyes after night falls."

"Behind the Memorial is a small door with yet another owl, and the phrase "La nuit porte conseil" – "The night offers counsel," or "Sleep on it.""

- Dianne L. Durante, on Diane Durante Writer

Sources

Antonin Jean Carles, Paris (Sculptor), "Herald Square: James Gordon Bennett Memorial," NYC Parks (New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, March 5, 2024), https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/herald-square/monuments/1042.

Bowery Boys, "A Goddess in Herald Square Gets a Makeover," The Bowery Boys: New York City History, November 14, 2007, https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2007/11/goddess-in-herald-square-gets-makeover.html.

Diana L. Durante, "Bennett Memorial, Herald Square – Dianne L. Durante, Writing Addict + Adept," accessed April 3, 2024, https://diannedurantewriter.com/bennett-memorial-herald-square.

Glenn Collins, "In Herald Square, a Monument Is Ready for Action (Published 2007)," September 17, 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/nyregion/17herald.html.

MAS, "Monument of the Month: The Bellringers: Celebrating 30 Years of Public Art," The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), August 25, 2017, https://www.mas.org/news/monument-of-the-month-the-bellringers/.

Stephanie Geier, "The Top 10 Secrets of NYC's Herald Square - Page 2 of 11," Untapped New York, December 11, 2015, https://untappedcities.com/2015/12/11/the-top-10-secrets-of-nycs-herald-square/2/.

Patrick Young, "Herald Square: The History of New York's Civil War and Reconstruction Era's Most Popular Newspaper," The Reconstruction Era, August 11, 2022, https://thereconstructionera.com/herald-square-the-history-of-new-yorks-civil-war-and-reconstruction-periods-most-popular-newspaper/.

Herald Square Minerva, Owls, and Cartoids

The goddess (and her owls) got a new life when she graduated from being an icon of The New York Herald newspaper building to become a monument in one of the most visited parts of New York. The four smiling, hand-holding maidens across the street at Macy's are reminiscent of the ancient temple caryatids.