Athena Review Image Archive ™
Herculaneum: Fountain of Venus relief
Herculaneum: Relief carving on Fountain of Venus (photo: Athena Review)
This public fountain on the Decumans maximus was fed by a cistern, whose water came from aqueducts.
The relief carving on a limestone slab at the head of the fountain, shows Venus and the shell where the water come out. In such a shell, according to myth, she was born as she emerged from the sea.
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