Athenaeum n.

1727, "temple dedicated to Athena," from Latinized form of Greek Athenaion "the temple of Athene," in ancient Athens, in which professors taught and actors or poets rehearsed; see Athena. The modern meaning "literary club-room or reading room" is from 1799; the sense of "literary or scientific club" is from 1807. These senses are based on the institutions founded by Hadrian at Rome and elsewhere dedicated to literary and scientific studies.