A rare bird has evoked such conflicting feelings in history. They were either feared, considering them messengers of death, or they saw in them a symbol of wisdom and mythical paradise creatures.
Due to the strange "non-bird" appearance, mysterious lifestyle, eerie voice, the ancient Egyptians considered the owl a symbol of death, darkness, evil. Among the Armenians and Slavs, the owl was identified with the devil, in the Bible it is mentioned as an unclean bird. Owls and owls in the legends and fairy tales of most European peoples were companions of sorcerers and witches along with bats and black cats. According to legend, in 216 BC. e. the defeat of the Romans at Cannae was "called out" by owls.
But at the same time, in ancient Greece, the owl symbolized wisdom, was dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena (hence the scientific name of the little owl - Athene noctua - “night Athena”), and in this pretty incarnation migrated to modern European culture.
In Rus', the attitude towards owls was also ambiguous. The peasants believed that the cry of an owl brings trouble, that if an owl flies into a hut and cannot fly out, then this is for worse, and if it crashes through a window, then to death. Therefore, owls were considered harmful birds and were destroyed on occasion. On the other hand, in Russian folklore, owls were often associated with mythological birds of paradise with a human head - Sirin and Alkonost.
The unusual appearance of an owl, because of which it was perceived either with superstitious horror or with reverence, is the calling card of a formidable predator. Strong paws with sharp claws and a short, hooked beak are not only in owls, but also in other feathered predators: eagles, hawks, falcons. The peculiarity of owls is that as a result of evolution they became night hunters. The ancestors of these birds developed a specific style of hunting, the main advantage of which was covert stalking and a sudden attack on the victim in the dark, and for this these birds had to develop excellent night vision, acute hearing and the ability to silently fly.