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. Meaning "literary club-room or reading room" is from 1799; 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.