ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA
HELLO EVERYONE, GOOD AFTERNOON. PRAISED BE JESUS AND MARY! NOW, I AM GOING TO
PRESENT TO THE STORY OF ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA. BUT BEFORE THAT LET’S HAVE FIRST
OUR OBJECTIVES FOR THIS TOPIC.
OBJECTIVES (READ THE PPT)
TALKING POINTS (READ THE PPT)
WHO IS ARETHUSA?
Arethusa (Ἀρέθουσα) means "the waterer". In Greek mythology, she was
a Naiad nymph of the sacred spring which bore her name in the Greek colony of
Syrakousa (Syracuse) on the island of Ortygia near Sicily.
She was originally a Nereid who escaped to the fled to the island to escape the
amorous pursuit of the river-god Alpheios. There she was transformed into the spring
of the same name. Alpheios followed in her wake, flowing beneath the sea to spring
forth anew on the Sicilian mainland and mingle his waters with hers.
During Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone, Arethusa entreated Demeter to
discontinue her punishment of Sicily for her daughter's disappearance. She told the goddess
that while traveling in her stream below the earth, she saw her daughter looking sad as the
queen of Hades.
Arethusa occasionally appeared on coins as a young girl with a net in her hair and
dolphins around her head. These coins were common around Ortygia, the location in
which she ends up after fleeing from Alpheus.
- As a patron figure of Syracuse, the head of Arethusa surrounded by dolphins was a
usual type on their coins. They are regarded as among the most famous and
beautiful Ancient Greek coins
The Roman writer Ovid called Arethusa by the name "Alpheias", because her stream
was believed to have a subterranean communication with the river Alpheius,
in Peloponnesus.
- A legend of the period, still told in Sicily today, is that a wooden cup tossed into the
River Alpheius will reappear in the Fountain of Arethusa in Syracuse.
WHO IS ALPHEUS?
In Greek mythology, Alpheus was the river god of the eponymous river, the modern-
day Alfeios River in Greece. He was the son of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and he
married Telegone, with whom he had a son, King Orsilochus.
He was an avid hunter and fell in love with the nymph Arethusa.
- However, she managed to evade him and went to the island of Ortygia, where she
turned into a well. Alpheus then transformed himself into a river and flowing under
the Peloponnese all the way to Ortygia, he was able to reunite with her.
According to a different myth, Alpheus fell in love with the goddess Artemis, whom he
pursued, but she managed to evade him by covering her face in mud. Finally, in the
story of the Twelve Labours of Heracles, the mythical hero rerouted the flow of the
river Alpheus, so that it would pass through the Augean Stables to clean them from the
filth in one day.
STORY OF ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA (READ THE PPT)
VIDEO WATCHING
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
What change is made in the story of Alpheus and Arethusa?
- When he is about to overtake her, she appeals to Artemis for help. Changed into a
spring of water, Arethusa plunges deep into the earth. Alpheus changes himself into
a river, and their waters mingle, forming a connection between the river Alpheus in
Greece and Arethusa’s spring in Sicily.
Who were Alpheus and Arethusa?
- The river god Alpheus fell in love with Arethusa, who was in the retinue of Artemis.
Arethusa fled to Ortygia, where she was changed into a spring. Alpheus, however,
made his way beneath the sea and united his waters with those of the spring.
SHORT QUIZ
1. Arethusa's name means?
- the waterer
2. An island which formed part of Syracuse
- Ortygia
3. Who was the God of the river?
- Alpheus
4. Who was the goddess of Arethusa who changed her intro spring of water?
- Artemis
5. The Roman writer Ovid called Arethusa by the name ____?
- Alpheias
VERSE
Alpheus makes his way far under the deep with his waters,
Travels to Arethusa with bridal gifts, fair leaves and flowers.
Teacher of strange ways is Love, that knavish boy, maker of mischief.
With his magical spell he taught a river to dive
- This verse is taken from the Alexandrian poet Moschus.
