Editing Fountain of Youth (section)

==Early accounts==
[[Herodotus]] mentions a fountain containing a special kind of water in the [[Somalia|land]] of the [[Macrobians]], which gives the Macrobians their exceptional longevity.{{Blockquote|The [[Ichthyophagi]]d then in their turn questioned the king concerning the term of life, and diet of his people, and were told that most of them lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, while some even went beyond that age{{mdash}}they ate boiled flesh, and had for their drink nothing but milk. When the Ichthyophagi showed wonder at the number of the years, he led them to a fountain, wherein when they had washed, they found their flesh all glossy and sleek, as if they had bathed in oil- and a scent came from the spring like that of violets. The water was so weak, they said, that nothing would float in it, neither wood, nor any lighter substance, but all went to the bottom. If the account of this fountain be true, it would be their constant use of the water from it which makes them so long-lived.<ref>Herodotus, [[s:History of Herodotus/Book 3|Book III]]: 23</ref>}}

[[File:Al-khidr.jpg|thumb|left|[[Persian miniature]] depicting [[Khidr]] and [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] watching the Water of Life revive a salted fish]]

A story of the "Water of Life" appears in the Eastern versions of the [[Alexander romance]], which describes [[Alexander the Great]] and his servant crossing the [[Land of Darkness]] to find the restorative spring. The servant in that story is in turn derived from Middle Eastern legends of [[Al-Khidr]], a sage who appears also in the [[Qur'an]]. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Aljamiado]] versions of the ''Alexander Romance'' were very popular in Spain during and after the period of [[Al-Andalus|Moorish rule]], and would have been known to the explorers who journeyed to America. These earlier accounts inspired the popular medieval fantasy ''[[John Mandeville|The Travels of Sir John Mandeville]]'', which also mentions the Fountain of Youth as located at the foot of a mountain outside Polombe (modern [[Kollam]]<ref>Kohanski, Tamarah & Benson, C. David (Eds.) ''The Book of John Mandeville''. Medieval Institute Publications (Kalamazoo), 2007. "[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/tkap2.htm Indexed Glossary of Proper Names]". Accessed 24 Sept 2011.</ref>) in India.<ref>Mandeville, John. ''[http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/782/pg782.txt The Travels of Sir John Mandeville]''. Accessed 24 Sept 2011.</ref> Due to the influence of these tales, the Fountain of Youth legend was popular in courtly [[Gothic art]], appearing for example on the ivory [[Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264)]] and several ivory mirror-cases, and remained popular through the European [[Age of Exploration]].<ref name="Peck">{{cite web|author=Peck, Douglas T|title=Misconceptions and Myths Related to the Fountain of Youth and Juan Ponce de Leon's 1513 Exploration Voyage|url=http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/FountainofYouth.pdf|publisher=New World Explorers, Inc|access-date=2008-04-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409062720/http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/FountainofYouth.pdf|archive-date=2008-04-09}}</ref>
[[File:French - Mirror Cover with the Fountain of Youth - Walters 71170.jpg|thumb|French 14th-century ivory mirror case with a ''Fountain of Youth'']]

European [[iconography]] is fairly consistent, as the [[Lucas Cranach the Elder|Cranach]] painting and mirror-case '' Fons Juventutis'' ([[The Fountain of Youth (Cranach)|The Fountain of Youth]]) from 200 years earlier demonstrate: old people, often carried, enter at left, strip, and enter a pool that is as large as space allows. The people in the pool are youthful and naked, and after a while they leave it, and are shown fashionably dressed enjoying a courtly party, sometimes including a meal.

There are countless indirect sources for the tale as well. [[Eternal youth]] is a gift frequently sought in myth and legend, and stories of things such as the [[philosopher's stone]], [[universal panacea]]s, and the [[elixir of life]] are common throughout [[Eurasia]] and elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Finding the Fountain of Youth: The Science and Controversy Behind Extending Life and Cheating Death|last=Zorea|first=Aharon|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4408-3798-2|location=Westport, CT|pages=35–39}}</ref>

An additional inspiration may have been taken from the account of the [[Pool of Bethesda]] where a [[Healing the paralytic at Bethesda|paralytic man was healed]] in the [[Gospel of John]]. In the [[John 5#Interpolation (verses 3b-4)|possibly interpolated]] {{bibleverse||John|5:2-4|NASB}}, the pool is said to be periodically stirred by an angel, upon which the first person to step into the water would be healed of whatever afflicted them.