Manitou Springs fixes goddess gaffe

MANITOU SPRINGS • A case of mistaken identity of the oldest gal in town isn’t cause for concern.

It’s reason to celebrate.

Seems that lovely lady atop the town clock here isn’t the Greek goddess Hygeia, as she has been known by Manitouans for 118 years.

She’s really the goddess Hebe.

Not that it’s a bad thing.

“It’s a step up,” said Manitou Springs historian Deborah Harrison. “Hebe is the goddess of eternal youth, the daughter of Zeus.”

Hygeia, goddess of health and daughter of healing god Asclepius, fit the bill when mineral water bottling magnate Jerome Wheeler gave the statue to the town in 1890. Wheeler said the she was Hygeia and nobody questioned it. Not the writers, artists or many Hygeia worshippers through the ages.

She’s the town’s pride, the central point, Santa’s first stop.

Harrison first got wind of the name snafu on a trip overseas.

In a jet-lagged stupor, she stumbled into a Copenhagen museum and saw a familiar face. The marble goddess statue was her Hygeia — same sleeveless dress, same pose, same pitcher in her hand.

But she had a different name.

She also had an exposed breast.

After extensive research, Harrison determined that the Manitou Springs goddess is indeed Hebe, cupbearer to the gods of Mt. Olympus and the kind of girl who, in some depictions, isn’t shy about showing a little skin.

Much more fitting for Manitou Springs than a public health goddess.

Still, there was some denial at first about Hebe.

“Not everybody wanted to hear it,” Harrison said. “I was ticked off that I didn’t get it right. I’ve put it in print wrong many times.”

Harrison said the zinc Manitou Springs statue was one of the models mass-produced by a New York foundry that also made toilets and garden statues. She located other fully clothed Hebes made by the company in Baton Rouge, La., New York and the Wisconsin Dells.

Soon, there will be lots of little Hebes around the town.

The Historic Manitou Springs Celebration of Hebe project ordered 15 statues — without wardrobe malfunctions — for artists to decorate. The festooned Hebes will be displayed in May and later sold at auction.

Meanwhile, the original goddess — call her whatever you want — holds onto her throne, top intact.