Castalia
 Water Ritual at Delphi | |
| Grouping | Legendary creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Water spirit |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Delphi |
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Nymphs |
Castalia/kəˈsteɪliə/(Ancient Greek:Κασταλία,romanized:Kastalia), in ancient Greek and Roman literature,[1]was the name of a spring nearDelphi,sacred to theMuses;it is also known as theCastalian Spring.It is said to have derived its name from Castalia, anaiad-nymph,daughter of the river-godAchelous,who is said to have flung herself into the spring when pursued by the godApollo.[2]
Mythology
[edit]In older traditions, the Castalian Spring already existed by the timeApollocame to Delphi searching for Python.[3]According to some, the water was a gift to Castalia from the riverCephisus.
In his commentary onStatius'sThebaid,Latin poetLactantius Placidussays that to escape Apollo's amorous advances, Castalia transformed herself into a fountain at Delphi, at the base ofMount Parnassus,or atMount Helicon.[4][5]She inspired the genius ofpoetryto those who drank her waters or listened to their quiet sound; thesacred waterwas also used to clean the Delphian temples. Apollo consecrated Castalia to theMuses(Castaliae Musae).
The 20th-centuryGermanwriterHermann Hesseused Castalia as inspiration for the name of the futuristic fictional utopia in his 1943magnum opusThe Glass Bead Game.Castalia is home to an austere order ofintellectualswith a twofold mission: to run boarding schools for boys, and to nurture and play the Glass Bead Game.
See also
[edit]- Castalian Spring
- Castalia House
- 4769 Castalia,an Earth-crossing asteroid
- 646 Kastalia,an asteroid
References
[edit]- ^The spring is mentioned inHerodotus,8.39;Pindar,Pyth.1.39;Virgil,Georgics3.293;Horace,Odes3.4.61;Statius,Thebaid1.698 and elsewhere: see Liddell, Scott, JonesGreek Lexicons.v.Κασταλία;Lewis and Short,Latin Dictionary,s.v.Castalia.
- ^Smith, W. (1858).Classical Dictionary,s.v.Castalia.
- ^Homer,Hymn to Apollo
- ^"Castalia".Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^Lactantius Placidus,On Statius's Thebaid1.698
External links
[edit]
Media related toCastalia (naiad)at Wikimedia Commons- CASTALIA from The Theoi Project
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