For a Greek colony in the Crimea, see Nymphaion. For the Modern Greek village see Nymphaio Ancient Greek Colonies of N Black Sea

The Jerash nymphaeum

A nymphaeum, in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC A monument is a structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of past In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form A spring is a point where Groundwater flows out of the ground and is thus where the Aquifer surface meets the ground surface These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habitations to the local nymphs. A grotto (Italian grotta) is any type of natural or artificial Cave that is associated with modern historic or prehistoric use by humans They were sometimes so arranged as to furnish a supply of water, as at Pamphylian Side. Side (ˈsiːdǝ is one of the best-known classical sites in Turkey, and was an ancient harbour whose name meant pomegranate A nymphaeum dedicated to a local water nymph, Coventina, was built along Hadrian's Wall, in the northernmost reach of the Roman Empire. Coventina was a Romano-British goddess of wells and springs She is known from multiple inscriptions at one site in Northumberland county of the United Kingdom Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman Subsequently, artificial grottoes took the place of natural ones.

The nymphaeum in Jerash, Jordan (illustration, right), was constructed in 191 CE. Overview Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity is the capital Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The fountain was originally embellished with marble facing on the lower level, painted plaster on the upper level, and topped with a half-dome roof, forming a giant niche. The niche in classical architecture is an Exedra or an Apse that has been reduced in size retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse Water cascaded through seven carved lion's heads into small basins on the sidewalk.

The Nymphenbad, the nympheum of the Zwinger, Dresden

The nymphaea of the Roman period were borrowed from the constructions of the Hellenistic east. See also Theodor Zwinger The Zwinger Palace in Dresden is a major German landmark This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The majority of them were rotundas, and were adorned with statues and paintings. A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan often covered by a Dome. They served the threefold purpose of sanctuaries, reservoirs and assembly-rooms. A special feature was their use for the celebration of marriages. Such nymphaea existed in Corinth, Antioch and Constantinople; the remains of some twenty have been found in Rome and many in Africa. Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Antioch on the Orontes (Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη Antiochia ad Orontem also Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The so-called exedra of Herodes Atticus (which corresponds in all respects to a nymphaeum in the Roman style), the nymphaeum in the palace of Domitian and those in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli (Tibur)—five in number—may be specially mentioned. Herodes Atticus ( also known by his Roman name Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes Marathonios (ca Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 &ndash 18 September 96 commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death The Hadrian's Villa ( Villa Adriana in Italian) is a large Roman Archaeological complex at Tivoli, Italy. Tivoli, the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km from Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it The term nymphaeum was also applied to the fountains of water in the atrium of the Christian basilica, which according to Eusebius were symbols of purification. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman

A nymphaeum for al fresco summer dining, of artificial grottoes with waterflows, designed by Bartolomeo Ammanati (1550‑1553), was reintroduced at the Villa Giulia, Rome. Bartolomeo Ammanati ( June 18 1511 - April 13 1592) was a Florentine Architect and sculptor. This page describes the building For the museum itself see National Etruscan Museum.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• (LacusCurtius website) S.B.Plattner and T. Ashby, A Topographical Dictionary of rome, 1929:"Nymphaeum"