Glauke Fountain

The Glauke Fountain is carved directly into the rock of the hill west of the Temple of Apollo — a massive rectangular monolith cut from the living limestone, with four chambers hollowed out inside it. It is one of the oldest water installations at the site, dating in its original form to the archaic period, though the Roman-era cuttings and channels are what visitors see today.

Unlike the Fountain of Peirene, the Glauke is easy to miss — it sits at the western edge of the site, slightly below and apart from the main agora area. But it repays a detour. The scale of the cutting is extraordinary: the whole structure is a single massive block of rock, shaped by hand from the hillside rather than built up from separate stones.

things to do sight
A story
Pausanias, writing in the 2nd century AD, records the local legend: Glauke, daughter of the Corinthian king Creon and intended second wife of Jason, received a poisoned cloak from the vengeful Medea. In agony, she threw herself into this fountain trying to wash the poison away — and died in it. The story of Medea is one of the most savage in Greek mythology, and this fountain is where it ended.

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