Arsinoi Fountain in Ancient Messina
The Arsinoe Fountain is located between the Theatre and the Agora. Traveller Pausanias informs us that it was named after Arsinoe, daughter of the mythical king of Messinia, Leucippus and mother of Asclepius. He also mentions that he received water from the Klepsidra spring, which is located in the present-day village of Mavrommati, next to the Late Byzantine church of St. John Riganas.
The Fountain includes a long and narrow tank (40 metres long) located a short distance from a retaining wall. A semi-circular podium (platform) in the exact middle of the tank bore a regiment of bronze statues. Two more tanks on either side of a paved atrium are slightly lower than the first.
The Fountain followed the fate of the rest of the public and sacred buildings, which were abandoned around 360-370 AD. The eastern part of the fountain was used during the early Christian period, as shown by the constructions in the upper reservoir and the water mill built in front of the Fountain in the first half of the 6th century AD.