by: KERRY SULLIVAN
The
Filippeios Krini (Philip’s Fountain) is a 2,300-year-old fountain that was
commissioned by King Philip II of Macedonia. It has miraculously survived in
working order to the present day, making it the oldest still-in-use hydraulic
work in the world.
In 338 BC
King Philip II of Macedonia established a military camp at Nestani in order to
attack Amfissa, located across the Gulf of Corinth from Nestani. Although by
this time the King’s influence was waning due to unsuccessful sieges on
Perinthus in 340 BC and Byzantium in 339 BC, the King could not allow the
residents of Amfissa to continue farming on the Crisaian plain – land that
rightfully belonged to Delphi, the oracle of Apollo. The Macedonians camped in
Nestani for many weeks. In order to provide his troops with enough water, the
King ordered a fountain be built, Filippeios Krini (Philip’s Fountain). In what
has come to be known as the Fourth Sacred War, King Phillip II soundly defeated
Amfissa and expelled its citizens from the region. The King’s reputation was
restored but he was assassinated two years later by one of his own bodyguards.
It was an ignoble end to a King with a mixed legacy. However, his memory will
continue to live on in the Filippeios Krini.
Illustration of hydraulic
and hydrostatic.
The
technology of waterpower systems is known as hydraulics, which comes from the
Greek words for “water pipes”. Beginning around 2000 BC, the Minoans and then
the Mycenaeans developed incredibly advanced techniques for water supply, water
transportation, drainage, storm water and sewage removal, flood protection, and
irrigation. By the Hellenistic era, the Greeks had invented easy-to-use devices
like the water wheel and the force pump – an instrument that enabled the user
to raise water from the ground and was used by Rome’s fire brigades.
These
pumps were brilliantly simple instruments that worked by “rotating an inclined
cylinder bearing helical blades around its axis whose bottom is immersed in the
water to be pumped. As the screw turns, water is trapped between the helical
blades and the walls, and thus rises up to the length of the screw and drains
out at the top” (Koutsoyiannis and Angelakis, 2003). The device is sometimes referred
to as Archimedes’ screw pump. Force pumps are still used today for a wide range
of functions including pumping well water, removing bilge water from boats,
pumping out flooded basements, extinguishing fires, and for water jets.
The water wheel. ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )
It was a
Greek named Anaxagoras (c. 510 – c. 428 BC) who clearly articulated the
hydrologic cycle: “the sun raises water from the sea into the atmosphere, from
where it falls as rain; then it is collected underground and feeds the flow of
rivers” (Koutsoyiannis and Angelakis, 2003). The philosopher’s later work on
the origins of thunder (i.e. explaining that the phenomenon did not come from
Zeus) contributed to his imprisonment for impiety and his subsequent forced
retirement.
Detail of the right-hand facade fresco,
showing Anaxagoras.
By the
time of King Philip II, installing a fountain to provide fresh groundwater for
soldiers and horses was routine. The Filippeios Krini was not intended to last
2,350+ years, however, it’s simple mechanics and solid masonry have enabled it
to continue (with periodic repairs) to provide water to the residents of
Nestani.
The
hilltop Greek village is also the site of another famous Greek fountain: the
pipelines that draw water from the naturally occurring sinkhole Dini (sometimes
called Pausanias). This sinkhole is believed to mark the birthplace of
Poseidon. According to the Greek myth, Poseidon was the child of Cronus and
Rhea. Cronus was the youngest Titan and had usurped his father Uranus (the Sky)
for the rule of the universe. He was thus understandably worried about a son of
his seeking to overthrow him and so decided to eat all of his children at
birth, beginning with the first, Hades. His consort, Rhea was displeased with
this practice and so sought to save her second son, Poseidon. Shortly after he
was born, Rhea left him near the sinkhole amidst a flock of lambs. When Cronus
came looking for the baby, Rhea said that she had given birth to a horse and
presented the King God with a colt. Interestingly, this did not strike Cronus
as suspicious and he promptly ate the horse. Poseidon survived and became the
god of horses, a title he maintained even after he took up the role of God of
the Sea when he and his brothers divvied up ruling the world. In ancient days,
residents of Nestani would sacrifice horses to Poseidon.
Top
image: The fountain of Phillip. Source: ( drt915.gr)
By Kerry
Sullivan
Sources:
Angelakis,
A. N., and Demetris Koutsoyiannis. "Ancient Greece."Encyclopedia of
Water Science (2003): 415-17. Web.http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=45852ABC9051C2FF0E2CD2717CB94427?doi=10.1.1.579.854&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Hondos.
"Filippeios Krini." Hondos Classic Hotel & Spa. Hondos Hotel
& Spa, 22 June 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. http://www.hondoshotel.gr/en/filippeios-krini
Lekakis,
George. "An Ancient Hydraulic Work That Keeps Functioning for 2350
Years." ΔΕΛΤΙΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ ΦΡΥΚΤΩΡΙΕΣ (2016): n. pag. Web.
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