Seite - 64 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

64 NicolaChiarenza Fig. 9:Selinous’ silver coinage during the 5th centuryBC; a: tetradrachm; b: didrachm; c: drachm;d: litra; picturesnot to scale. On the lytra’s obverse, a female figure sits on a rock and caresses (or tames) a snakewith her righthand (Fig.9d).On the reverse, the riverSelinous isdepictedasabullwithahumanhead. It has been suggested that the sitting female figure represents Eurymedousa, depicted as the nymph of one of Selinous’ water springs.76 Does the nymph sitting on a rock refer to water spring of the Acropolis plateau? The hypothesis is fascinating, but cannot be confirmed at present.77 For the purposes of this paper, it is important to underline that water-related events and public works might have occurred or been undertaken, respectively, at Selinous during the 5th centuryBC, andmaybe they influenced the coins’ iconography, aswell the story aboutEm- pedocles.Humanaction,of course,wasnotenoughtoensureaperfectoutcomeof the reclama- tionworks. Divine action – especially that of the healer-godworshipped in the urban sanctu- ary–wasnecessary aswell. The iconographies ofApollo shooting arrows,78 river gods in front of altars,water nymphs andbirds, aswell as theEmpedocles storyanddedication toApolloPaiandateback to the first half of the 5th century BC andmight have been interrelated.79 This is not an accident, if we consider Selinous’waterscapeand thebuildinghistory of its urban sanctuary. Conclusion Thesoutheastareaof theAcropolisplateauhadbeendedicated tocult activities since the foun- dationof thecolony.Theabundanceofwaterplayedanimportantrole inchoosingtheappropri- ate place to establish the main urban sanctuary, both for religious/ideological and practical reasons. During the 6th and the 5thcenturies BC, the sanctuary increased in dimensions and ritual activities and underwent a quasi-uninterrupted building process with the construction of monumental structures. It is interesting to note that, against this backdrop, water had no architecturally andaesthetically relevant role for theurbansanctuary:80 the fountain consisted of a basin in front of an opening embedded in the retainingwall; therewas no fountain in a 76 Zoppi 2009, 67–69 figs. 20–23 (withprevious references). 77 Zoppi 2009, 69 thinks that Eurymedousawas related to theGaggera spring. 78 Regarding the possible connections between this iconography and the altar’s dedication toApollo Paian, see Marconi 1999, 12. 79 On this interrelation see themeaningful observationsofMarconi 1994, 300–303. 80 The same holds true for sanctuaries of the Greekmainland andAsiaMinor during the Archaic and Classical periods (seeKobusch, this volume).