Arethusa was a naiad (a water nymph) who frolicked in the vicinity of Olympia and was desired and pursued by the river god Alpheios. She appealed for help from Artemis, the goddess of the moon, the hunt and protector of women. Artemis transformed her into an underground stream emerging as a fresh water spring on the Sicilian island of Ortygia, the future city of Syracuse. Undaunted, Alpheios diverted his rivers flow to follow Arethusa, and both of their waters now mingle eternally in the Fountain of Arethusa in Ortygia. Her image on coins is usually accompanied by dolphins, which were common in the sea around Ortygia in classical times.
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