She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the  owl of Minerva , which symbolizes that she is connected to wisdom.
After his death, Handel's Italian operas fell into obscurity, except for selections such as the aria from Serse,  Ombra mai fu . FÃ¹ the oratorios continued to be performed but not long After'handel s death they were thought to need some, modernisation And mozart orchestrated A german version Of messiah and other. works
It must be remembered that at this time Handel had not yet asserted his greatness as a choral writer; the fashionable ideas of music and musicianship were based entirely upon success in Italian opera, and the contest between the rival composers was waged on the basis of works which have fallen into almost as complete an oblivion in Handel's case as in Buononcini's.