Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 109, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1913 — Lions’ Heads on Fountains. [ARTICLE]

Lions’ Heads on Fountains.

Most of the things that are customary with us had some good reason for their origin, though we are apt to accept them and not Inquire what that origin was. The water in a great many public fountains, whether for man or beast, comes out of a lion’s head. Did you ever stop to think why a lion’s head should be chosen in preference to any other design? This is said to be the reason: Among the ancient Egyptians the rising waters of the River Nile was the most important event of the year, as it meant life and prosperity to the .whole nation. This rising of the waters always took place when the sun was in the constellation of Leo, or the lion. So they adopted the shape of a lion as the symbol for the lifegiving waters of the Nile, and all their fountains were carved with a lion’s head. The Greeks and Romans copied this symbol, and so It has come down to us. —Tit-Bits.