Statue of Hygeia the Greek goddess of health, St Bernards Well, near Dean Village on the Water of Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.

• Contributor: Frontline Photography / Alamy Stock Photo
• Image ID: JAH99C
• File size: 60.3 MB (3.2 MB Compressed download)
• Releases: Model - no | Property - no
• Dimensions: 3843 x 5482 px | 32.5 x 46.4 cm | 12.8 x 18.3 inches | 300dpi
• Date taken: 27 March 2017
• Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

More information

“The chief ornament of this delightful valley” Alexander Campbell, 1801 A natural spring was discovered near the Dean Village on the Water of Leith in 1760, and was soon a visitor attraction as at that time ‘taking the waters’ was thought to be very good for the health. Some claimed that the water could cure everything from a bruised leg to ‘total blindness’, but others described the taste as having the ‘odious twang of hydrogen gas’ or even like ‘the washings from a foul gun barrel’. The building was designed by the painter Alexander Nasymth in 1789, and the statue inside represents Hygeia the Greek goddess of health.