It is located next to the Roman Bridge of the Lima River, Vila de Ponte de Lima, district of Viana do Castelo, Northern Portugal
The Legend of the Lima River nominated for the category of Legends and Myths of the 7 Wonders of Popular Culture by the Municipality of Ponte de Lima.
The beauty of the Lima River has always caused an inability to express itself adequately to attract the suggestive power of the legend that gave it its name - the Legend of the River Lethes, the River of Forgetfulness.
The River of Oblivion (today the Lima River) it was said that whoever drank its water or someone crossed the river would be enchanted by its beauty and would soon forget their homeland, their family and their own name.
Those who walk along the banks of the Lima River in Ponte de Lima, in addition to the monument evocative of the Legend of the River Lethes or Esquecimento, will find on the exterior wall of the Municipal Market a tile panel on which the famous tapestry by Almada Negreiros dated 1957 that immortalizes the Legend is reproduced.
Using the words of António Manuel Couto Viana: it is not the river of Forgetfulness, but rather the river of "Living memory of these loving lands, where it glides and seems to kiss".
The Roman Legion had already crossed the Tagus, the Zêzere, the Mondego, the Vouga and the Douro, some more difficult than others but without any major problems.
The Roman Legion saw the River Lima and they stood still and thought Could this be Lethes? They were so far from home, they had already experienced so many hardships and now they were faced with yet another obstacle. He would be? The buzz must have spread among the soldiers and among the officers. It's the Lethes River. We won't go from here!
The fear of the Roman army was understandable. If it were Lethes, it would be enough to touch its waters to forget everything and everyone. Because Lethes, everyone knows, is the border to the underworld, the world of the dead.
Decimus Junius Brutus, the Roman Consul who commanded the troops, tried to convince his Centurions to tell the soldiers that they were still very far from the final border and that after the river they would continue their glorious march of conquest and Romanization of this territory on the edge of the Empire.
But neither the Consul's authority nor persuasion were sufficient to appease the hosts.
This really was the river Lethes and whoever crossed it would never return to their loved ones.
On impulse, Decimus Junius Brutus snatches the Legion's standard from the soldier who was carrying it, spurs his horse and enters the river in the face of the terror of his men.
The Consul crossed the Lima and arrived at the other bank, began waving the Imperial Eagle and calling for his men, thus proving to them that this was not Lethes.
The convinced army crossed the waters of Lima and continued the march that would give it glory.
Décimo Júnio Bruto went down in history with the nickname Galaico for being the conqueror of Galicia.
The beauty of the Lima River has always caused an inability to express itself adequately to attract the suggestive power of the legend that gave it its name - the Legend of the River Lethes, the River of Forgetfulness.
The River of Oblivion (today the Lima River) it was said that whoever drank its water or someone crossed the river would be enchanted by its beauty and would soon forget their homeland, their family and their own name.
Those who walk along the banks of the Lima River in Ponte de Lima, in addition to the monument evocative of the Legend of the River Lethes or Esquecimento, will find on the exterior wall of the Municipal Market a tile panel on which the famous tapestry by Almada Negreiros dated 1957 that immortalizes the Legend is reproduced.
Using the words of António Manuel Couto Viana: it is not the river of Forgetfulness, but rather the river of "Living memory of these loving lands, where it glides and seems to kiss".
The Roman Legion had already crossed the Tagus, the Zêzere, the Mondego, the Vouga and the Douro, some more difficult than others but without any major problems.
The Roman Legion saw the River Lima and they stood still and thought Could this be Lethes? They were so far from home, they had already experienced so many hardships and now they were faced with yet another obstacle. He would be? The buzz must have spread among the soldiers and among the officers. It's the Lethes River. We won't go from here!
The fear of the Roman army was understandable. If it were Lethes, it would be enough to touch its waters to forget everything and everyone. Because Lethes, everyone knows, is the border to the underworld, the world of the dead.
Decimus Junius Brutus, the Roman Consul who commanded the troops, tried to convince his Centurions to tell the soldiers that they were still very far from the final border and that after the river they would continue their glorious march of conquest and Romanization of this territory on the edge of the Empire.
But neither the Consul's authority nor persuasion were sufficient to appease the hosts.
This really was the river Lethes and whoever crossed it would never return to their loved ones.
On impulse, Decimus Junius Brutus snatches the Legion's standard from the soldier who was carrying it, spurs his horse and enters the river in the face of the terror of his men.
The Consul crossed the Lima and arrived at the other bank, began waving the Imperial Eagle and calling for his men, thus proving to them that this was not Lethes.
The convinced army crossed the waters of Lima and continued the march that would give it glory.
Décimo Júnio Bruto went down in history with the nickname Galaico for being the conqueror of Galicia.
