Athenaeum, the temple of Athena, or Minerva, at Athens, and elsewhere. As Athena was the patroness of learning and wisdom, Athena's temple was the resort of the poets, learned men, and wits of Athens, who there exchanged views and read their books aloud. In this way the literary people of Athens formed a sort of club. A school of rhetoric, with a regular staff of professors, established in Rome by the Emperor Hadrian, was known as the Athenaeum. A score of professors offered systematic study in oratory, rhetoric, philosophy, and jurisprudence. In modern times the name has become popular for libraries, learned associations, and literary journals.