For five thousand years humankind has been perfecting the art of the water fountain, with fair attribution being given to the Bronze Age Greeks for fashioning the untamed fury of water into a calming, elegant and refreshing spray.
Of course for the Ancient Greeks their water features provided so much more than just a refreshing spring on a humid day. These fountains became the lifeblood of their communities with the provision of fresh drinking water being channelled along the aqueducts from the mountainside into the Agoras. They also became the place for man to commune with his gods. Emblematic of this, the fountain at Delphi provided the final battleground where Apollo would eventually defeat his nemesis Python.But when the need for drinking water is met through other means, and the legends are stripped away, what is intrinsic to the water fountain?
In today's terms - when the hassle of cables, solar panels, and complicated set-ups are removed, what remains?The calmness remains.
Its serenity.
Gentleness.
Refreshment.
This is hydria.