Spring of Arethusa in Syracuse (Sicily). This is a fresh water spring that borders right on the Medi

Spring of Arethusa in Syracuse (Sicily). This is a fresh water spring that borders right on the Mediterranean (that wall in the back is the border between the two). Mythologically, Arethusa was a nymph who had a spring in mainland Greece but was chased by an over zealous river god (or some other horny male deity) so she went underground and came back up in Sicily to escape him. She appears in Ovid’s telling of the Proserpina (Persephone) story in the Metamorphoses as well. What’s really cool is that Arethusa then appears on most of the Greek Syracusan coinage, as she becomes a patron deity of sorts for the city. She represents both a strong (if only mythological) connection to mainland Greece for the colonists from Corinth who founded Syracuse but also a source of fresh water, which is one of the non-negotiables for setting up a new city somewhere. You can usually identify Syracusan coins by the fish/dolphins surrounding the head of Arethusa (although the bust is sometimes identified as one of Persephone). -- source link

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