Athenaeum

Athenaeum is the Latin form of the Greek Ἀθηναῖον, 'temple of Athene'. (The English name is best pronounced 'ath-er-KNEE-erm', IPA: /æθ ɪ ˈniː əm/.) This was specifically used of

• the Temple of Athene in classical Athens, where teachers used to meet, and teach, their students;
• schools founded by the Emperor Hadrian in the second century CE in Athens, Rome and Lugdunum (modern Lyons in France) as a tribute to the civilization of the Greeks.

Athenaeum in modern English has been used as a prestigious name for several types of institution. In British academic life, the most general references are to the club in London.

• Clubs and learned societies, in many towns of the English-speaking world, such as Melbourne (Australia), Limerick (Ireland), Glasgow (Scotland), Boston, Hartford and Indianapolis (USA); and, for AWE's purposes, notably London. The Athenaeum Club (always colloquially just The Athenaeum) is a gentleman's club notable for members of intellectual and artistic tastes and achievements.
• Libraries and Museums, such as those in La Jolla and Alexandria (VA) in the USA
• Theatres, such as in Warminster and the Howard Athenaeum in Boston, Mass.
• Periodicals, of which the best known in literary history is J. S. Buckingham's literary review Athenaeum, which ran from 1828 to 1921. The distinguished editor Charles Dilke took over in 1830, remaining for 16 years. In his time it became the magazine with the biggest circulation in Britain, remaining influential and widely read throughout the nineteenth century. It had articles on and reviews of arts and science subjects, was "perhaps the most influential journal of late Victorian literary criticism" (Kemp, Mitchell and Trotter, 2002). In 1921 it became the Nation and Athenaeum following a merger, and in 1931 became the New Statesman and Nation (now New Statesman and Society) after another.

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