Why are there owls printed on Athens coins?

Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology, is versatile. She guarded Athens with an owl. Minerva is equivalent to Athena in Greek mythology, and they have the same divine power and characteristics. Legend has it that she passed on the skills of textile, sewing, pottery making and gardening to human beings. Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, therefore defined philosophy as "the love of wisdom", and owl became synonymous with philosophy. After the Romans conquered Athens, they brought Minerva, their goddess of wisdom. Minerva's owl (Minerva's owl) has been handed down since then. Owl is a symbol of Minerva, representing wisdom, reason and fairness. It is a divine bird standing on Minerva's shoulder, and is considered to be the bird in charge of wisdom and learning. Therefore, there is a proverb in English: as smart as an owl. Owls have bright eyes, sharp eyes and strong insight, and thick eyebrows give this bird a thoughtful expression. The ancient Greeks thought that owls had a high IQ, and some even thought that Minerva would become an owl and use this disguise to spy on their secrets from her enemies. In Athens, many people with status or wealth like to show off around the city with owls. Others think that owls can understand people's conversations and even become people. Why do people treat owls like this? Because people see the owl's eyes in front of its head, and most owls have faces, so the owl's face looks like a human face. The owl people usually see, staring at a pair of big eyes, looks calm, much like a fortune teller in a temple. It always keeps a thinking expression, so people think that owls are smart. Whenever people fall asleep in the dead of night, it will make a strange call to wake up the world, just like a wise man who can't stand the ignorance of the people and keeps shouting alone to alert the world and guide the direction. Minerva owls always take off at dusk. Hegel, a German philosopher, likes to compare philosophy to an owl. Philosophy may be like this. It lies between an owl and Minerva, that is, it lies between dusk and dawn, and it wakes up after finishing something. Dark environment is easy to produce ideas, and excessive strong light will make people nervous breakdown. In Hegel's view, the owl is another name for philosophical thinking, a divine bird that inspires human wisdom and a symbol of thinkers. Minerva's owl flew, which means that human wisdom has begun. In Hegel's view, philosophy is like Minerva's owl. It does not fly to meet the rising sun in the morning, nor does it fly freely between the blue sky and white clouds in the afternoon, but quietly takes off at dusk. Hegel used this metaphor to explain that "the way to understand philosophy is just a reflection, that is, thinking repeatedly behind the facts." In addition, it is pointed out that philosophers have gone through a long meditation, waiting for the moment when melons are ripe, just like owls waiting for dusk and then spreading their wings and flying.