Connected with Religion among the very early Greeks, a spring of water was a very beneficial feature to have near you. These water features were actually considered temples during these times and were dedicated to nymphs, heroes, and gods and goddess. We can therefore take a look at the history of fountains all the way back to the beginning of architectural creations from Greek Shrines that were created of water sources. Unfortunately, due to the lack of written evidence, we do not have a great details of descriptions of these water features. One fact we can develop from the brief mentionings of such water features is that they existed. A great example of this is the Spring of Pirene at Corinth. This city housed many outdoor fountains and was encased by what was called white stone at the time. Water then flowed from the white stone in many different niches into a larger basin. It is also mentioned that water shot out from the feet of the winged horse Pegasus.
A bronze statue stood near a dolphin, today we call it Neptune. Out of the mouth of the dolphin, water flowed. Known for its grand size and decorations, the fountain which was built by Theagenes at Megara was closed by seats as a place for happy resting during the extreme heat of the summer. This area was also surrounded by pillars located at Lerna. We can trace the importance of water back to the Greeks who obviously recognized that water was a definite necessity to man and woman. We can develop this fact because of the many outlets that let water to different cities. In the city of Patrae, a fountain flowed and could be created without having to go up ot down steps. This fountain flowed water from the fountain located at Ennea-krounos located in Athens straight through nine water pipes.
Fountains became known as a test to how rich a civilization was, due to the important of water for man. The first to name this was Pausanias. If a city had absolutely no public fountains, they were basically considered the scum of an area. Great aqueducts were created by the Romans so water could flow from the capital to different cities. The remains of these great aqueducts stretch all the way across the Campagna and are beautiful monuments that are located in Italy. Recorded notes of Vitruvius show the different ways water was discovered, testing and distributed by going through fountains.