"The Raven" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous works. The poem takes place just after midnight on a December evening. A depressed man is sitting in his library, drifting in and out of sleep as he reminisces about Lenore, his dead lover. He goes to the window to let in fresh air, and a raven swoops in, perching itself above the door.
Typically ravens represent bad luck, and even death. In Greek mythology, ravens are seen as messengers. Perhaps this is why the speaker believes that it has come with a message from Lenore.
This refers to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and enlightenment. The statue shows that the narrator is a scholar, hence his pondering of old texts.
The name is possibly related to "Eleanor" or "Helen", deriving from the Greek for "light". This would imply she was the light of the narrator's life, and without her, there is darkness.