A Nymphaeum, in Greek and Roman antiquities, is a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habitations to the local nymphs. They were sometimes so arranged as to furnish a supply of water. Subsequently, artificial took the place of natural grottoes. For other uses of nymph see Nymph (disambiguation). ... A Grotto, when it is not an artificial garden feature, is a small cave, usually near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide. ...

The nymphaea of the Roman period were borrowed from the constructions of the Hellenistic east. The majority of them were rotundas, and were adorned with statues and paintings. They served the threefold purpose of sanctuaries, reservoirs and assembly-rooms. A special feature was their use for the celebration of marriages. Such nymphaea existed at Corinth, Antioch and Constantinople; the remains of some twenty have been found at Rome and of many in Africa. The so-called exedra of Herodes Atticus (which answers in all respects to a nymphaeum in the Roman style), the nymphaeum in the palace of Domitian and those in the villa of Hadrian at Tibur (five in number) may be specially mentioned. The term nymphaeum was also applied to the fountains of water in the atrium of the Christian basilica, which according to Eusebius were symbols of purification. The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (Κόρινθος) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... The city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya) is located in what is now Turkey. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, commonly known as Herodes Atticus (c. ... Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman emperor of the gens Flavia. ... Emperor Hadrian Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 - July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was Roman emperor from 117 - 138, and member of the gens Aelia Hadrian was born in Italica, Hispania, to a well-established settler family. ... Tivoli (population 55,000), the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town some 20 km from Rome (Latium), at the falls of the Aniene, where it issues from the Sabine hills. ... The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). ... The Basilica of St. ... Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...