"bring owls to Athens" meaning in English

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        "2": "γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας"
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        "2": "Athena"
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  "etymology_text": "Calque of Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας (glaûk' eis Athḗnas). The owl, which roosted in the rafters of the old Parthenon (the one burnt by Xerxes I), was the symbol of the city of Athens, and was sacred to its patron goddess, Athena. It was featured on Athens’ silver coins, and as Athens both mined its own silver and minted its own coins, bringing owls (either the real birds, or the coins) to Athens would be pointless.",
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        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
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        "participle",
        "present"
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        {
          "ref": "414 BCE, Aristophanes, Ian C. Johnston (translator into English), The Birds",
          "text": "Euelpides: Who brings owls to Athens?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1832 March 17, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Louis H. Gray (translator into English), Letter to Wilhelm von Humboldt",
          "text": "Forgive me, then, for bringing owls to Athens as a thanks-offering.",
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        {
          "ref": "1996 June 27, Herbert Burkert, “Access To Public Information: A Key To Commercial Growth And Electronic Democracy”, in parliamentary debates, Stockholm",
          "text": "Perhaps we have not been sufficiently aware that talking about access and its implications in Scandinavia is like bringing owls to Athens.",
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        "To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical."
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        "(idiomatic) To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical."
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "carry coals to Newcastle"
        },
        {
          "word": "carry owls to Athens"
        }
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        "idiomatic"
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        "Xerxes I"
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  "etymology_text": "Calque of Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας (glaûk' eis Athḗnas). The owl, which roosted in the rafters of the old Parthenon (the one burnt by Xerxes I), was the symbol of the city of Athens, and was sacred to its patron goddess, Athena. It was featured on Athens’ silver coins, and as Athens both mined its own silver and minted its own coins, bringing owls (either the real birds, or the coins) to Athens would be pointless.",
  "forms": [
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          "ref": "414 BCE, Aristophanes, Ian C. Johnston (translator into English), The Birds",
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          "ref": "1832 March 17, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Louis H. Gray (translator into English), Letter to Wilhelm von Humboldt",
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          "ref": "1996 June 27, Herbert Burkert, “Access To Public Information: A Key To Commercial Growth And Electronic Democracy”, in parliamentary debates, Stockholm",
          "text": "Perhaps we have not been sufficiently aware that talking about access and its implications in Scandinavia is like bringing owls to Athens.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "(idiomatic) To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical."
      ],
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  "word": "bring owls to Athens"
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