I was talking with a friend who mentioned “taking tea to India”. It made me wonder what the equivalents are around the world. “Taking coals to Newcastle” is the UK’s.
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Taking guns to America?
Carrying water to the sea is the Dutch version.
Seems like that should actually be quite a useful task in the Netherlands considering all the polders!
Of course the Dutch version is about water
What does the phrase mean?
It means to pointlessly take something to a place that already has it in abundance.
Apparently “owls to Athens” is common across Europe? “Wood to the forest” is a variant in the US
It is known in Germany, “Eulen nach Athen tragen”. I’ve heard the explanation that the currency of Athens in antiquity had owl on one side.
Is “Owls to Athens” a reference to Athena?
Yes and no. It’s a circular relationship. The proverb is known to have already existed in Ancient Greece. The pantheon (the version that existed before Xerxes torched the place) was apparently inhabited by tons of owls, especially it’s roof construction. Since the pantheon was a temple to Athena, people assumed Athena held Owls holy and the owl became linked to Athena, and since Athena was the goddess of wisdom, Owls became a symbol of wisdom. Since the city and her patron goddess are related by name, Athens is linked to owls as well.
But for the meaning: It’s to be taken literally. There were many owls in Athens, so they’d not exactly need any more.
