Larry Miller, Tennessee Place Names: "Apparently, there were one or more springs here. The 'Castalian' portion of the name refers to the legendary spring of Castalia that issued from the foot of Mount Parnassus in Greece."
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| The Castalian spring of Tennessee, named for the sacred water source at Delphi, the location of the famous oracle of the god Apollo. |
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| Monument to Isaac Bledsoe, the first European to discover the spring. |
Ancient Castalian Spring
Sample Latin Text:
Ovid, Amores 1.15
The Castalian spring as a source of poetic immortality.
Ergo, cum silices, cum dens patientis aratri
depereant aevo, carmina morte carent.
Cedant carminibus reges regumque triumphi,
cedat et auriferi ripa benigna Tagi!
Vilia miretur vulgus; mihi flavus Apollo
pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua . . .
Loeb Translation:
"Yea, though hard rocks and though the tooth of the enduring ploughshare perish with passing time, song is untouched by death. Before song let monarchs and monarchs’ triumphs yield—yield, too, the bounteous banks of Tagus bearing gold! Let what is cheap excite the marvel of the crowd; for me may golden Apollo minister full cups from the Castalian fount . . ."
Sample Latin Text:
Ovid, Amores 1.15
The Castalian spring as a source of poetic immortality.
Ergo, cum silices, cum dens patientis aratri
depereant aevo, carmina morte carent.
Cedant carminibus reges regumque triumphi,
cedat et auriferi ripa benigna Tagi!
Vilia miretur vulgus; mihi flavus Apollo
pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua . . .
Loeb Translation:
"Yea, though hard rocks and though the tooth of the enduring ploughshare perish with passing time, song is untouched by death. Before song let monarchs and monarchs’ triumphs yield—yield, too, the bounteous banks of Tagus bearing gold! Let what is cheap excite the marvel of the crowd; for me may golden Apollo minister full cups from the Castalian fount . . ."
