bring owls to Athens

/bɹɪŋ ˈaʊlz tu ˈæ.θɪnz/

verb

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

Similar
carry coals to Newcastle
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Meanings

verbbring 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)

present singular third person brings owls to Athens · participle present bringing owls to Athens · participle past brought owls to Athens · past brought owls to Athens · alternative carry owls to Athens

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

    Euelpides: Who brings owls to Athens?

    414 BCE, Aristophanes, Ian C. Johnston (translator into English), The Birds
    2 more examples

    Forgive me, then, for bringing owls to Athens as a thanks-offering.

    1832 March 17, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Louis H. Gray (translator into English), Letter to Wilhelm von Humboldt

    Perhaps we have not been sufficiently aware that talking about access and its implications in Scandinavia is like bringing owls to Athens.

    1996 June 27, Herbert Burkert, “Access To Public Information: A Key To Commercial Growth And Electronic Democracy”, in parliamentary debates, Stockholm

    Synonyms: carry coals to Newcastle

Synonyms & antonyms

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

Similar
carry coals to Newcastle
Also see
carry coals to newcastle

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.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bring owls to Athens. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bring%20owls%20to%20Athens

MLA

“bring owls to Athens.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bring%20owls%20to%20Athens. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bring owls to Athens,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bring%20owls%20to%20Athens.

Source: bring owls to Athens on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.