Athena

1727, "temple dedicated to Athena," from Latinized form of Greek Athenaion "the temple of Athene," in ancient Athens, in which professors taught and actors or poets rehearsed; see Athena. The modern meaning "literary club-room or reading room" is from 1799; the sense of "literary or scientific club" is from 1807. These senses are based on the institutions founded by Hadrian at Rome and elsewhere dedicated to literary and scientific studies.

city of ancient Attica, capital of modern Greece, from Greek Athenai (plural because the city had several distinct parts), traditionally derived from Athena, but probably assimilated from a lost name in a pre-Hellenic language.