Page - 77 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

5 Fountains andBasins inGreekSanctuaries 77 singularly emphasized staging of a water complex can be found in a sanctuary dedicated to deities associatedwithwater.41 In general, however, the significance of thewater resources of Greek sanctuaries,which is often documented in literature, is in reality often not reflected in an elaborate architectural presentation. The initial focus lay on the usability and protection of the water. An increased architectural-aesthetic valuewas not in the primary focus of the architects. Especially in com- parison with themonumental well houses in urban contexts, which had been very common sinceArchaic times,42 thewater architecture in sanctuaries remains comparativelymodest. This did not change before Roman times, whenmore andmore fountains with elaborate façadeswere built even in sanctuaries. Themost prominent example is theNymphaion ofHe- rodesAtticus inOlympia.43Butelsewhere, too, there isan increasedawarenessof the fountains and springs. Somewere extensively renovated and enlarged. For example, thewater installa- tions in theDemeter shrineofPergamon44or in theLetoonofXanthos,45and, toa lesserextent, the fountain intheAsclepieionofKos,46weregivenelaborate façades. InKos,a further fountain with a circular niche in the central positionof the terracewallwas installed,whichnowhada clear axial relationshipwith themainpropylon (Fig.6,3).47 In spite of theoftenprominentpositionat the entrance to the sanctuaryornear the temple andaltar,water installations inthepre-Romanperioddidnotnecessarilyacquireanarchitectur- al form that defined the space. Accordingly, the mythological or ritual significance of water systemswasnormallynot emphasizedor even increasedbyelaborate architectural forms. Ritual useofwater: Purification Ifone includes theritualuseofwater in thecontextof theGreeksanctuary,however, thepicture is much broader. Hippocrates reported in the late 5th or early 4th century BC that entering a sanctuary required ritual purificationwithwater: αὐτοί τε ὅρους τοῖσι θεοῖσι τῶν ἱερῶνκαὶ τῶντεμενέωνἀποδεικνύμενοι,ὡςἂνμηδεὶς ὑπερβαίνῃἢνμὴἁγνεύῃ, εἰσιόντες τε ἡμεῖς περιρραινόμεθα οὐχ ὡς μιαινόμενοι, ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τι καὶ πρότερον ἔχομεν μύσος, τοῦτο ἀφα- γνιούμενοι. Andwe ourselves fix boundaries to the sanctuaries and precincts of the gods, so that nobodymay cross them unlesshebepure; andwhenweenterwesprinkleourselves, notasdefilingourselves thereby, but towashaway anypollutionwemayhavealready contracted.48 Similarly,manyepigraphicsacred lawsdefine theneed forbothphysicalandmoralpurification before entering the sanctuary.49 Thepurityof thevisitors, achievedbyacompletewashingora 41 Etienne–Braun 1986, 73–91;Glaser 1983 87–89no.59 figs. 161–163.Hedoubts theusual dating.Ona smaller scale, a fountain house with a small aedicula in the Asclepieion/Hippolyteion of Troizen can be added:Welter 1941, 30pl. 17 c;Glaser 1983, 56–58no.42 figs. 103–106.The reconstructionof themonumentof theNikeofSamo- thrace as a fountainhasbeendisprovedwith certainty:Wescoat 2015. 42 E.g. the so-calledEnneakrounos inAthens:Glaser 1983, 67f. no.49 figs. 123. 124. Thepossible sizeof fountain buildings in Hellenistic times is demonstrated by the Fountain of Arsinoë in Messene: Reinholdt 2009, 159–176 Beil. 8. 43 Glaser 1983, 110f. no.75 figs. 204–209; Longfellow2012, 141–146. 44 Bohtz 1981, 15f. pls.6, 3. 43, 2. 44. 45 Citedabove, n. 18. 46 Schazmann 1932, 59pl. 31;Glaser 1983, 10f. no.4 figs. 12.13. 15. 47 Schazmann 1932, 55f. figs. 35–36 pl. 29; Glaser 1983, 45f. no.36 figs. 88.89; Dorl-Klingenschmid 2001, 205f. no.48 fig. 133.Furtherexamples fornewlybuilt fountains insanctuaries inLaginaandSamos:Dorl-Klingenschmid 2001, 210no.55; 240no. 100 fig. 27. For thephenomenon ingeneral, cf. Longfellow2012. 48 Hippoc.Morb. Sacr. 4, 55–60 (translationby Jones 1981). 49Wächter 1910; LeGuen-Pollet 1991, 77–80nos. 22–23; Pimpl 1997, 55f.; Gawlinski 2012, 61. For theperirrhansis in general, cf. RE 37 (1937) 856f. s.v.Περιρραντήρια (L. Ziehen);Durand–Lissarague 1980, 91f.; Kerschner 1996,