In Roman religion , the goddess of handicrafts, the professions, the arts, and, later, war.
She was commonly identified with the Greek Athena . Some scholars believe that worship of Minerva began when Athena's cult was introduced at Rome from Etruria. Minerva was one of the Capitoline triad, along with Jupiter and Juno , and her shrine in Rome was a meeting place for craftsmen's guilds. The worship of Minerva attained its greatest vogue under the emperor Domitian , who claimed her special protection.