Did you know that Florence Nightingale had a pet owl named Athena?
(photo from the Florence Nightingale museum webpage)
Florence Nightingale was on vacation in Greece and rescued a Little Owl (Athene Noctua) from a group of children that bullied it. She named it after the goddess of wisdom Athena.
This bird became her companion for some years and she was said to having her with her sometimes even in a pouch or in her pocket. When Athena finally died, Florence was devastated and had her family preserve her and stuff her and you can see her till now in the Florence Nightingale Museum.
I think in one way Goddess Athena was with her for a little while, don't you think? ^_^
Florence was also named after the city of her birth (Firenze/Florence) but so was her sister, Parthenope, a very greek name indeed given that Parthenope was born at Naples, at a part of it that used to be an ancient Greek settlement)
(The owl was given also a guest appearance to the tv series "Victoria")