Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Arethusa (; grc-gre, Ἀρέθουσα) was a

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

who fled from her home in Arcadia beneath the sea and came up as a fresh water fountain on the island of

Ortygia Ortygia (; it, Ortigia; grc-gre, Ὀρτυγία) is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the ''Città Vecchia'' (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. The name origi ...

in Syracuse,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Mythology

The myth of her transformation begins in Arcadia when she came across a clear stream and began bathing, not knowing it was the river god Alpheus, who flowed down from Arcadia through

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

to the sea. He fell in love during their encounter, but she fled after discovering his presence and intentions, as she wished to remain a chaste attendant of

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

. After a long chase, she prayed to her goddess to ask for protection. Artemis hid her in a cloud, but Alpheus was persistent. She began to perspire profusely from fear, and soon transformed into a stream. Artemis then broke the ground allowing Arethusa another attempt to flee. Her stream traveled under the sea to the island of Ortygia, but Alpheus flowed through the sea to reach her and mingle with her waters. Virgil augurs for Arethusa a salt-free passage beneath the sea on the condition that, before departing, she grant him songs about troubled loves, not those in her own future, but those of Virgil's friend and contemporary, the poet Cornelius Gallus, whom Virgil imagines dying from unrequited love beneath the famous mountains of Arcadia,

Maenalus Maenalus or Mainalos ( grc, Μαίναλος) was a town of ancient Arcadia, and the capital of the district Maenalia (Μαιναλία), which formed part of the territory of Megalopolis upon the foundation of the latter city. Maenalus was in ru ...

and

Lycaeus Mount Lykaion ( grc, Λύκαιον ὄρος, ''Lýkaion Óros''; la, Mons Lycaeus) is a mountain in Arcadia, Greece. Lykaion has two peaks: ''Stefani'' to the north and St. Ilias (, ''Agios Īlías'') to the south where the altar of Zeus is lo ...

. During Demeter's search for her daughter

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

, Arethusa entreated Demeter to discontinue her punishment of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

for her daughter's disappearance. She told the goddess that while traveling in her stream below the earth, she saw her daughter as the queen of Hades. The Roman writer

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

called Arethusa by the name "Alpheias", because her stream was believed to have a subterranean communication with the river Alpheius, in

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

. A legend of the period, still told in Sicily today, is that a wooden cup tossed into the River Alpheius will reappear in the Fountain of Arethusa in Syracuse. Apart from retellings by classical authors including

and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a poem on ''Arethusa'' in 1820.

Anne Ridler Anne Barbara Ridler OBE (née Bradby) (30 July 1912 – 15 October 2001) was a British poet and Faber and Faber editor, selecting the Faber ''A Little Book of Modern Verse'' with T. S. Eliot (1941). Her ''Collected Poems'' (Carcanet Press ...

's "Evenlode" (1959), which she described as "a fable of rivers designed for broadcasting with music," has Alpheus and Arethusa as its main characters.

Coin of Arethusa

As a patron figure of Syracuse, the head of Arethusa surrounded by

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s was a usual type on their coins. They are regarded as among the most famous and beautiful Ancient Greek coins.Syracuse Arethusa Decadrachm Coins Offered for Sale in Ancient Coin Auction
Paul Fraser Coins 27 February 2012, "In his definitive 1990 book ''Ancient Greek Coins'', the numismatist G. K. Jenkins describes Syracusan decadrachms of this period as 'perhaps the most famous of all ancient coins'."

In music

Karol Szymanowski, Polish classical music composer, named "The Fountain of Arethusa" first of his three poems entitled "Myths" for violin and piano. The Saucy Arethusa is an 18th-century song about a British naval ship named after Arethusa. A song on the album Her Majesty the Decemberists by

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...

called "Shanty for the Arethusa" is about a different ship called ''Arethusa''. A movement of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's oboe piece '' Six Metamorphoses After Ovid'' is entitled "Arethusa." Italian composer Ottorino Respighi composed a tone poem titled "Aretusa". Also Ralph Vaughan Williams, the English classical music composer, composed "Sea Songs", a quick march for both brass band and wind band written in 1923, used a Morris Dance tune 'The Royal Princess' which was also known by the title 'The Arethusa', alongside two other shanty tunes 'Admiral Benbow' and 'Portsmouth'. 'The Princess Royal' is one of the most celebrated of

Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...

's compositions, largely because of its association with the words of the song 'The Aretusa', to which it was set by Shield toward the end of the eighteenth century. The song of 'The Aretusa' originally appeared in a small opera or musical entertainment called 'The Lock and Key', which was acted in 1796. The Princess Royal was composed for the eldest daughter in Carolan's time of The MacDermott Roe of Coolavin. It is perhaps worth mentioning that there is an English folk song, of fairly wide distribution in England which is entitled 'The Princess Royal' but has no connection with Carolan's melody.

Gallery

Arethusa and Alpheus

File:Aréthuse, Legras.jpg, ''Aréthuse'' by Auguste François Jean Baptiste Legras (Salon 1874) File:Arethusa LACMA M.88.91.381g.jpg, ''Arethusa'' by Philip Galle (1587) File:Circle of Antoine Coypel - Alpheus chasing Arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus chasing Arethusa'' by Antoine Coypel (18th-century) File:ALPHEE ET ARETHUSE.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by René-Antoine Houasse File:Story of Arethusa by Francesco Primaticcio, pen, ink, brush and washes.jpg, ''The Story of Arethusa'' by Francesco Primaticcio File:Scultore fiorentino, alfeo e aretusa, 1561-62.JPG, Scultore fiorentino, alfeo e aretusa, 1561–62 File:Alpheus and Arethusa MET DP248115.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Battista di Domenico Lorenzi (1568–70) File:Alpheus and Arethusa, Abraham Bloteling.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Abraham Bloteling (between 1655 and 1690) File:Alpheus and Arethusa - Roman School.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' (Roman School, circa 1640) File:Alpheus and Arethusa 01 - Carlo Maratta.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Carlo Maratta (7th-century) File:Alpheus and Arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by John Martin (1832) File:Aretusa.jpg, ''Aretusa'' by Antonio Triva (17th century) File:Arethusa Chased by Alpheus LACMA 65.37.135.jpg, ''Arethusa Chased by Alpheus'' by Wilhelm Janson and Antonio Tempesta (1606) File:Johann König - Alpheus und Arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Johann König (probably 1610s) File:Attributed to Luigi Garzi - Alpheus and Arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Luigi Garzi File:La Ninfa Aretusa.PNG, ''La Ninfa Aretusa'' by Alexandre Crauk File:Paolo de Matteis - Alpheus and Arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus and Arethusa'' by Paolo de Matteis (1710) File:Picart alpheus arethusa.jpg, ''Alpheus and en:Arethusa'' by Bernard Picart File:Roubaix piscine burthe arethuse et alphee.JPG, ''Aréthuse et Alphée'' by Léopold Burthe (1847) File:Urbino, francesco x. avelli, tagliere con aretusa nascosta da diana in una nube, 1534.JPG, Arethusa

Arethusa and Demeter

File:Aretusa e Demetra - Cerere.png, ''Arethusa Tells Ceres of Proserpine's Fate'' (1685–1775) File:Vincenz Grüner 1791 - Ceres and Arethusa.jpg, ''Ceres and Arethusa'', engraving by Vincenz Grüner (1791) File:Demetra e Aretusa.png, ''Demetra e Aretusa'' (1751–1801) File:Ludovico Dolce 1558 - Ceres and Arethusa.jpg, ''Ceres and Arethusa'', engraving by Ludovico Dolce (1558)

Classical Literature Sources

Arethusa Chronological listing of classical literature sources for Arethousa, Aerika, Arethusam, Arethiisae, Arethusii or Arethusa: * Homer, ''Odyssey'' 13. 404 ff (trans. Palmer) (Greek epic poetry C8th BC) * Euripides, ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' 164 ff (trans. Coleridge) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Pindar, ''Isthmian Ode'' 3. 69 ff (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric C5th BC) * Scholiast on Pindar, ''The Nemean Odes'' 1. 1 (''The Odes of Pindar'' trans. Sandys 1915 p. 317) * Theocritus, ''Idyll'' 1. 117 ff (trans. Banks) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Theocritus, ''Idyll'' 16. 103 ff * Theocritus, ''Idyll'' 22. 40 ff * Scholiast on Theocritus, ''Idyll'' 22. 40 (''The Idylls Of Theocritus'' trans. Cholmeley 1919 p. 337) * Moschus, ''Idyll'' 3. 9 ff (trans. Banks) (Greek poetry C2nd BC) * Moschus, ''Idyll'' 3. 74 ff * Moschus, ''Idyll'' 7. 1 ff * Scholiast on Moschus, ''Idyll'' 7. 1 ff (''The Idylls of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus'' Banks 1853 p. 200) * Horace, Ode 3. 13. 13 (trans. Bennett) (Roman lyric poetry C1st BC) * Scholiast on Horace, Ode 3. 13. 13 (''Horace Odes and Erodes'' trans. Bennett 1901 p. 336) * Propertius, ''Elegies'' 4. 3. 1 ff (trans. Butler) (Latin poetry C1st BC) * Ibycus, Fragment 24 (trans. Edmonds, ''Lyra Graec''a Vol 2 p. 97) (Greek commentary C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 5. 3. 5 ff (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 16. 18. 3 ff * Scholiast on Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' Fragments of Books 34 and 35. 9 ff (''Diodorus of Sicily'' trans. Oldfather 1967 Vol 12 p. 97) * Cicero, ''Against Verres'' 5. 53 (trans. Middleton, Melmoth and Heberden) (Roman philosophy C1st BC) * Cicero, ''Against Verres'' 6. 31 (trans. Middleton, Melmoth & Heberden) * Virgil, ''Eclogue'' 10. 1 ff (trans. Hamilton Bryce) (Roman poetry C1st BC) * Virgil, ''Georgics'' 4. 322 ff (trans. Hamilton Bryce) * Virgil, ''Georgics'' 4. 343 ff (trans. Fairclough) * Virgil, ''The Aeneid'' 3. 694 ff * Ovid, ''Fasti'' 4. 423 ff (trans. Frazer) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Scholiast on Ovid, ''Fasti'' 4. 423 (''Ovid's Fasti'' trans. Frazer 1959 1931 p. 220) * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 5. 409 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC To C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 5. 486-646 * Ovid, ''The Amores'' 3. 6. 28 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Scholiast on Ovid, ''The Amores'' 3. 6. 28 ff (''Ovid Heroides and Amores'' trans. Showerman 1914 p. 469) * Livy, ''The History of Rome'' 25. 30. 6 ff (trans. Moore) (Roman history C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 1. 3. 16 (trans. Jones) (Greek geography C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 6. 2. 4 * Strabo, ''Geography'' 10. 1. 13 * Strabo, ''Geography'' 16. 2. 10 * Strabo, ''Geography'' 16. 2. 11 * Lucan, ''Pharsalia'' 3. 177 (trans. Riley) (Roman poetry C1st AD) * Scholiast on Lucan, ''Pharsalia'' 3. 177 (''The Pharsalia of Lucan'' trans. Riley 1853 p. 98) * Lucan, ''Pharsalia'' 9. 358 ff * Scholiast on Lucan, ''The Pharsalia of Lucan'' 9. 362 (''The Pharsalia of Lucan'' trans. Riley 1853 p. 353) * Silius, ''Punica'' 5. 490 ff (trans. Duff) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Silius, ''Punica'' 14. 53 ff * Silius, ''Punica'' 14. 117 ff * Silius, ''Punica'' 14. 295 ff * Silius, ''Punica'' 14. 515 ff * Statius, ''Silvae'' 1. 2. 203 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Scholiast on Statius, ''Silvae'' 1. 2. 203 ff (''Statius'' trans. Mozley 1928 Vol 1 p. 31) * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 2. 106 (103) ff (trans. Bostock & Riley) (Roman history C1st AD) * Scholiast on Pliny, ''Natural History'' 2. 106 (103) ff (''The Natural History of Pliny'' trans. Bostock & Riley 1855 Vol 1 p. 131) * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 3. 14 (8) ff * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 4. 12 ff * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 4. 17 ff * Scholiast on Pliny, ''Natural History'' 4. 17 ff (''The Natural History of Pliny'' trans. Bostock & Riley 1855 Vol 1 p. 299) * Pliny, ''Natural Histor''y 5. 19 (23) ff * Scholiast on Pliny, ''Natural History'' 5. 19 (23) ff (''The Natural History of Pliny'' trans. Bostock & Riley 1855 Vol 1 p. 440) * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 6. 30 ff * Scholiast on Pliny, ''Natural History'' 6. 30 ff (''The Natural History of Pliny'' trans. Bostock & Riley 1855 Vol 2 p. 75) * Pliny, ''Natural History'' 31. 30 ff * Scholiast on Pliny, ''Natural History'' 31. 30 ff (''The Natural History of Pliny'' trans. Bostock & Riley 1855 Vol 5 p. 493): * Plutarch, ''Lives'' Lycurgus 31. 3 ff * Plutarch, ''Lives'' Antony 37. 1 ff * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', That a Philosopher Ought to Converse Especially with Men in Power 776 E ff (trans. Babbitt) * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', Whether Land or Sea Animals are Cleverer 976 ff (trans. Cherniss & Helmbold) * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', Fragment 81. 181 ff (Sandbach) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 11 ff (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 7. 2 ff (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 7. 23. 2 ff * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 7. 24. 3 ff * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 8. 54. 2 ff * Aelian, ''On Animals'' 8. 4 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd AD) * Lucian, ''Dialogues of the Sea-Gods'' 296 ff (trans. Harmon) (Assyrian satire C2nd AD) * Appian, ''The Syrian Wars'' 57 (trans. White) (Greek history C2nd AD) * Scholiast on Appian, ''The Syrian Wars'' 57 (''Appian's Roman History'' trans. White 1913 Vol 4 p. 629) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 157 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 181 * Achilles Tatius, 1. 18 ff (trans. Gaselee) (C2nd AD Greek romance) * Apuleius, ''Psyche'' Canto 5 (trans. Tighe in ''The Works of Apuleius'' trans. Hudson 1914) (Latin poetry C2nd AD) * Athenaeus, ''Banquet of the Learned'' 2. 16 (trans. Yonge) (Greek rhetoric C2nd AD to C3rd AD) * Athenaeus, ''Banquet of the Learned'' 8. 3 * Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 2. 6 ff (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetoric C3rd AD) * Scholiast on Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 2. 6 ff (''Philostratus Imagines Callisteatus Descriptions'' Fairbanks 1931 p. 150) * Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Ammianus Marcellinus'' 15. 4. 6 ff (trans. Rolfe) (Roman history C4th AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 10. 82 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Servius, ''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' Aeneidos 3. 694 (trans. Thilo & Hagen) (Greek commentary C4th AD to 5th AD) * Scholiast on ''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' Aeneidos 3. 694 (''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' trans. Thilo & Hagen 1881 Vol 1 p. 455) * Servius, ''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' Aeneidos 3. 697 * Servius, ''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' Aeneidos 4. 484 * Servius, ''Servii Grammatici In Vergilii'' Aeneidos 8. 40 * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 37. 171 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD): * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 40. 560 ff * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 45. 117 ff * Martianus Capella, ''Martianus Capella'', Liber 6 De Geometria 658. 12 ff (ed. Eyssenhardt) (Roman prose C5th AD) * Procopius, ''History of the Wars'' 3. 14. 11 ff (Greco-Byzantinian history C6th AD) * First Vatican Mythographer, ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 166 Arethuisa et Alpheus (ed. Bode) (Greco-Roman mythography C9th AD to C11th AD) * Second Vatican Mythographer, ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 93 Venus (ed. Bode) (Greco-Roman mythography C11th AD) * Second Vatican Mythographer, ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 173 Arethusa) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades or Book of Histories'' 9. 491 ff (trans. Untila et al.) (Greco-Byzantinian history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades or Book of Histories'' 9. 882 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades or Book of Histories'' 10. 385 ff

References

External links

*
Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 40 images of Arethusa)
{{Authority control Nereids Metamorphoses into bodies of water in Greek mythology Metamorphoses characters Deeds of Artemis Rape of Persephone