Minerva

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In Canto XXX of the Purgatorio, within the mystical procession, Dante describes a figure crowned with the leaves of Minerva: «cerchiato de le fronde di Minerva» (Purg. XXX 68). The note to the passage clarifies that the olive, the plant sacred to Minerva, signifies wisdom; the detail helps clarify Beatrice's role as celestial wisdom or theology, as does the citation from the Song of Songs. In Canto II of the Paradiso, at the beginning of the third canticle, the poet directly invokes the goddess to assist him on his journey: «Minerva spira, e conducemi Appollo» (Par. II 8). According to the notes to the canto, Minerva is identified with wisdom, Apollo with poetic inspiration, and the Muses with art: wisdom, poetry, and art are all present in the enterprise, but it is Minerva who «swells the sails» of the ship, making poetry the instrument of wisdom. The pagan deity takes on, like Apollo, a Christian meaning.