Claim: Many have taken the bowed head of the Mourning Athena, a matter of debate since the relief's excavation from the Acropolis of Athens, an ancient Greek settlement, to indicate sadness or pensiveness.
Evidence: The meaning of her bowed head has been a matter of debate since the relief's excavation from the Acropolis of Athens in 1888. An acropolis (Ancient Greek: ἀκρόπολις, akropolis; from akros (άκρος) or akron (άκρον), "highest, topmost, outermost" and polis (πόλις), "city"; plural in English: acropoles, acropoleis or acropolises) was an ancient Greek settlement, especially a citadel, built upon an area of elevated ground—frequently a hill with precipitous sides, chosen for purposes of defense. As the conventional name suggests, many have taken the posture to indicate sadness or pensiveness, and thus to interpret the rectangular object on the viewer's right as a stele, a stone slab that serves as a grave marker.