From the west side of Taurus we may perceive the great aqueduct of Valens, which crosses the third valley, and is here conjoined with the chief _Nymphaeum_, a decorative public hall built around a fountain.[321] Several of these _Nymphaea_ exist in the city, and they are often made use of for private entertainments, especially nuptial festivals, by citizens who have not sufficient space for such purposes in their own homes.[322] The water supply of the town is under the care of a special Consul, and very stringent laws are in force to prevent waste or injury to the structures necessary for its storage and distribution.[323] With the exception, however, of that of Valens, aerial aqueducts (so conspicuous at Rome) have not been carried near to, or within, the walls of Constantinople; and subterranean pipes of lead or earthenware are the usual means of conveying the precious liquid from place to place.[324] The public cisterns are in themselves a striking architectural feature of the city. Some of these are open basins, but many of them possess vaulted roofs, upborne by hundreds of columns whose capitals are sculptured in the varied styles of Byzantine art.[325] Most of these receptacles for water are distinguished by special names; thus, beneath the Sphendone of the Hippodrome, we have the Cold cistern,[326] and near to the palace or _hospice_ of Lausus the Philoxenus, or Travellers’ Friend.[327] By a law of Theodosius II, the wharf dues, paid for the use of the various stairs on the Golden Horn, are applied to the repair of the aqueducts, the supply of water from which is free to the public.[328] In connection with the cisterns a group of three storks in white marble is pointed out as a further result of the fruitful visit of Apollonius Tyaneus to Byzantium; owing to the district becoming infested by serpents, flocks of these birds were attracted hither, and caused a terrible nuisance through having contracted a habit of casting the dead bodies of the reptiles into the water reservoirs; but the erection of this monument speedily achieved their perpetual banishment from the city.[329]
If we step aside a short distance from Taurus, both on the north and south sides, we shall in each case come upon an interesting monument. 1. On the far side of the Capitol, overlooking the Zeugma, on a marble pillar, is a noted statue of Venus, which marks the site of the only _lupanar_ permitted by Constantine to exist in his new capital.[330] Around, each secluded within its curtained lattice, are a series of bowers consecrated to the illicit, or rather mercenary, amours of the town. The goddess, however, who presides here is credited with a remarkable leaning towards chastity; for, it is believed, that if a wife or maid suspected of incontinence be brought to this statue, instead of denying her guilt, she will by an irresistible impulse cast off her garments so as to give an ocular proof of her shamelessness.[331] 2. To the south, elevated on four pillars, is a lofty pyramid of bronze, the apex of which sustains a female figure pivoted so as to turn with every breath of wind. The surfaces of the pyramid are decorated with a set of much admired bas-reliefs; on one side a sylvan scene peopled with birds depicted in flight or song; on another a pastoral idyl representing shepherds piping to their flocks, whilst the lambs are seen gambolling over the green; again, a marine view with fishers casting their nets amid shoals of fish startled and darting in all directions; lastly, a mimic battle in which mirthful bands of Cupids assault each other with apples and pomegranates. This elaborate vane, which is visible over a wide area, is known as the _Anemodulion_, or Slave of the Winds.[332]