# bring owls to Athens

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bring-owls-to-athens
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

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

## Examples

- Giving him advice on cooking is like bringing owls to Athens.
- You are bringing owls to Athens by giving water to a fish.
- The company decided to sell ice in the Arctic, which was clearly bringing owls to Athens.
- Sending a crate of coffee to a famous cafe owner in Brazil feels like bringing owls to Athens.
- The tourists brought their own expensive bottled water to the mountain spring, which was truly bringing owls to Athens.
- By attempting to teach the master painter his own signature technique, the student was merely bringing owls to Athens.

## Origin

Calque from 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.