bring owls to Athens

Etymology
proverb. The owl, which roosted in the rafters of the old (the one burnt by ), was the symbol of the city of, and was sacred to its patron goddess,. It was featured on Athens’ silver coins, and as Athens both mined its own silver and minted its own coins, bringing owls (either the real birds, or the coins) to Athens would be pointless.

Verb

 * 1)  To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical.