The artist and sculptor Martial Raysse created an original fountain with a crocodile on Place du Marche. Where do crocodiles come from in Nimes and what does this reptile have to do with the city? The story is like this...
In 31 BC, Octavian defeated the fleet of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, after which he became emperor, adding the prefix Augustus to his name. In honor of this event in Nimes, around which the legionnaires received lands as a reward, a coin was minted. On one side of it was the profile of the emperor, and on the other - a crocodile, decorated with a laurel wreath and chained to a palm tree. It symbolized the conquest of Egypt. The coin was so loved by the inhabitants of Nimes that many centuries later, in 1535, a crocodile chained to a palm tree moved to the official coat of arms of the city.
That is, you will see a crocodile in Nimes everywhere - on fences, signs, pillars and paving slabs. But, of course, the main city crocodile is located in the fountain on Place du Marche.
In 31 BC, Octavian defeated the fleet of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, after which he became emperor, adding the prefix Augustus to his name. In honor of this event in Nimes, around which the legionnaires received lands as a reward, a coin was minted. On one side of it was the profile of the emperor, and on the other - a crocodile, decorated with a laurel wreath and chained to a palm tree. It symbolized the conquest of Egypt. The coin was so loved by the inhabitants of Nimes that many centuries later, in 1535, a crocodile chained to a palm tree moved to the official coat of arms of the city.
That is, you will see a crocodile in Nimes everywhere - on fences, signs, pillars and paving slabs. But, of course, the main city crocodile is located in the fountain on Place du Marche.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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