Old School Fountain Mosaic

Student Collaboration, 2013

The mosaic in front of Old School was produced by a group of students as part of their Service activities with the assistance of the artist Oliver Budd. Despite the angularity of each tile, the fluid design suggests and echoes the flow of water. The text is Chysorrhoas / χρυσορροας – one in the Latin alphabet, one in the Greek alphabet.

They mean “flowing with gold”. 

χρυσος (chrysos) - gold

ῥεω (rheo) – I flow

As well as being the name of more than one river in the ancient world, the word was also the nickname of St John of Damascus c675-749 AD, a Syrian monk and philosopher, who wrote about music, astronomy, theology and law. The nickname was given to him supposedly because the words he spoke and wrote flowed with ‘’golden’’ knowledge and erudition, apt for central location in the school.

There is a short slow looking exercise below: