Who pursued Arethusa?
Alpheus River
According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book V, Arethusa, while bathing in the Alpheus River, was seen and pursued by the river god in human form. Artemis changed her into a spring that, flowing underground, emerged at Ortygia.
Who did Arethusa follow?
river god Alpheus
Arethusa, a nymph of a spring who was pursued by the river god Alpheus. She was a huntress and attendant of Artemis. She may be the same with the above Arethusa. Arethusa, one of the Hesperides, daughters of Nyx and Erebus, or Atlas and Hesperis, or Phorcys and Ceto and lastly of Zeus and Themis.
What mythological origin is reflected in the story of Alpheus and Arethusa?
In Greek mythology, Arethusa was a beautiful nymph and companion to the moon goddess, Artemis. When Arethusa unknowingly bathed in a river of the river god, Alpheus, she had also inadvertently seduced him as he was overcome by Arethusa’s beauty.
Who is Arethusa?
Arethusa was a singularly beautiful nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris; she was also the favourite of Diana, goddess of hunting and knowledge. Arethusa looked so beautiful that all men who set eyes upon her ended up desiring her: it was not long before Alpheus, son of the Ocean god, fell in love with her.
Who were Alpheus and Arethusa Why was Arethusa changed into a spring what was Alpheus fate?
Alpheus was a river god who pursued her. In her attempts to escape, Arethusa called Artemis to help. Artemis turned her into a underground spring. Alpheus transformed into a river and followed her so they could at last be together.
What was Nereus the god of?
Nereus, in Greek religion, sea god called by Homer “Old Man of the Sea,” noted for his wisdom, gift of prophecy, and ability to change his shape. He was the son of Pontus, a personification of the sea, and Gaea, the Earth goddess.
How did Arethusa escape from the river god?
In an earlier form of the legend, it was Artemis, not Arethusa, who was the object of the river god’s affections and who escaped by smearing her face with mire, so that he failed to recognize her.
Who is Arethusa in Greek mythology?
Arethusa, in Greek mythology, a nymph who gave her name to a spring in Elis and to another on the island of Ortygia, near Syracuse. Silver tetradrachm from Syracuse, Italy, signed by the engraver Cimon above the headband of the nymph Arethusa, c. 410 bc.
What is the story behind the Fountain of Arethusa?
Karol Szymanowski, Polish classical music composer named “The Fountain of Arethusa” first of his three poems entitled “Myths” for violin and piano. The Saucy Arethusa is an 18th-century song about a British naval ship named after Arethusa.
Who wrote the poem about Arethusa?
Apart from retellings by classical authors including Ovid and Virgil, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a poem on Arethusa in 1820. Anne Ridler’s “Evenlode” (1959), which she described as “a fable of rivers designed for broadcasting with music,” has Alpheus and Arethusa as its main characters.