The Font of Arethusa, sung by many poets is a source of fresh water flowing from a cave a few meters from the sea, symbol of Syracuse since ancient times. The myth of Arethusa, nymph of Syracuse, reveals the deep connection between the Greek colonies and the motherland Greece.  

The myth speaks about the creation of the fountain: One day the god Alpheus fell in love with the young nymph Arethusa while she was bathing naked. She was the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and escaped the God to find shelter on the island of Ortigia, where she asked for help to the goddess Artemis who turned her into a water source. Zeus, moved by the pain of Alpheus turned him into a river, so that he could run under the waters of the Aegean Sea and rejoin his lover mixing its waters with those of the source of fresh water.

Details: Plants of papyrus grow naturally around the fountain Aretusa