Arethusa and Kyane, Nymphs and Springs in Syracuse: Between Greece and Sicily

Abstract

The paper will examine the examples of Arethusa and Kyane, two springs situated in Syracusan territory that knew some fame in antiquity. According to legend, the first one, Arethusa, a nymph in the retinue of Artemis, was a Peloponnesian native who crossed the seas to escape the Olympian Alpheius River’s lust. Once aground on Ortygia, later the heart of the Corinthian colony of Syracuse, she was transformed into a spring by her patron goddess, and the river who followed her poured its waters into her streams, establishing an eternal link between the Greek motherland, and Sicily, land of Greek diaspora. For her part, Kyane was a native nymph who witnessed the abduction or rape of Kore by the god Hades, who punished her by changing her into a spring. Both were integrated into Greek cultural and religious heritage and have thus crossed the boundaries of their adopted island. As early as the end of the 6th century BCE, Arethusa is frequently mentioned in ancient literature, from Pindar, probably the first author to name her, down to Imperial Latin writers, and even their Byzantine successors. She is one of the most popular figures of ancient literature regarding nymphs. As both springs were undoubtedly places of worship, they were both instruments of fertility of the land and of Syracusan women. The paper will highlight the material and symbolic role they play in Syracusan culture, and in relationships between motherland and colony, as well as the Hellenic koine.

The Cultural Ecohydrogeology of Mediterranean-Climate Springs: A Global Review with Case Studies

“…Her story and relationship to this spring are frequently mentioned by poets, writers, and travellers over the ensuing ages (e.g., Pindalo, Ovidio, Virgilio, and Ciceron). Additional details about the site are provided in [136][137][138].…”

“…The spring was regarded as the channel through which the demigod Arethusa escaped to the surface from the submarine city of Arcadia, and she was a protectress of Syracuse. Various texts remark that Fonte Aretusa is one of the few European localities for papyrus (Cyperus papyrus; the aquatic plant growing in the middle of the spring in Figure 23); however, that species is absent in drawings of the spring in the 18th and 19th centuries [136,138], casting doubt on its nativity or long-term occurrence there. There remains much insight to be gained by studying the history of MCZ springs culture.…”