1. A sacred spring on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassus. The ancient Greeks thought it to be a source of poetic inspiration to those who bathed in it. It is named for a nymph who either jumped into the spring or was turned into the spring while attempting to escape the lecherous advances of the god Apollo. The nine muses were sometimes called “Castalides” after this spring, which they held sacred. The priestesses of Apollo at Delphi would bathe in the spring before making their pronouncements. Sometimes spelled Castalie or Castaly.

2. A genus of aquatic plant in the water lily family, characterized by round, floating flowers and large, bright flowers.

3. Asteroid 4769 Castalia (1989 PB), discovered by Eleanor F. Helin of Caltech using the Palomar Observatory telescope. It is shaped roughly like a dumbell (perhaps because it is the product of a gentle collision of two asteroids) and is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) wide.

4. The name of several small towns and cities in the United States: Castalia, IA, Castalia, NC, and Castalia, OH.

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