Delphinus (delphi) delphi

The common dolphin, or the short-beaked dolphin, is a species of dolphin found pockets throughout the ocean. They live in many areas close to continents and islands. These dolphins are highly social, sometimes found in pods numbering hundreds and even thousands. When they stray into smaller numbers they may merge with other dolphin pods and interbreed with them. They are playful, known to engage in bow riding. Like most toothed whales they subsist mostly on fish, but their choice of fish differs by where they live. Human fishing depletes their numbers by starving them and tuna nets suffocating them.

Religion & Impact
Greece: Short-beaked dolphins are one of the three beaked dolphin species found in modern Greece.In modern Greece they are highly endangered. In the Corinthian Gulf they form mixed pods with striped dolphin's and Rossi's dolphins.

The ancient Greeks honored dolphins, supposedly due to their heroic nature and their cuteness in riding boats' waves. However artistic portrayals do not accurately represent dolphins, leading to suspicion of this writer. See Dolphins and Ancient Greek art for more information. If this was the dolphin species known well to ancient Greeks, or was a participant along with the other dolphin species, then it had a great contribution to mythology.

The bard Arion (circa 600-500 BC) is noted for having been rescued by a pod of dolphins. He was kidnapped by pirates after winning a song competition. He was given two options, kill himself on the boat and have a burial on land, or drown in the sea. He was allowed to play a song before he died, and he played a song to Apollo, noted here as the god of poetry, to save him. Either the music attracted the dolphins somehow, or Apollo himself brought the dolphins to the ship. The dolphins then led him to Tainaron. Unfortunately the dolphin that saved him accidentally beached itself in the process of saving him, and Arion had weakly sped away, not thinking about pushing the dolphin back to shore. When he realized it died he was set into mourning. He told his story to the local leader, Periander. Periander commanded that the dolphin be given a human burial and that a statue of the dolphin was to be made. This was a statue of Arion riding the dolphin. It was placed in the cave-temple to Poseidon at Taenarum, Peloponnes. Later on the pirates were driven to Tainaron by a storm, and when inquired about Arion lied about him and claimed to have killed him and buried them there. They were ordered to announce this to the statue of the dolphin that rescued Arion and swear to his or her ghost. Arion then came out of the monument, surprising them. Periander then ordered them to be crucified at this location. It is said that Apollo's love for Arion and his admiration for his skills led him and this dolphin to be placed amongst the stars. This led to Egyptian's inspired by the myth to name a constellation Delphinus.

It is also said that Zeus gave Apollo some gifts, including the city of Delphi. The name Delphi is close sounding to the word dolphin (δελφί̄ς delfis), though it is said to have been derived from the word wombs (δελφύς). Apollo needed more people living in Delphi, so he looked for some. He spotted a sailing from Crete, and he either shapeshifted into a dolphin or possessed one to jump onboard the ship. Spooked and awed, they sailed a course which landed them into the city of Delphi. There Apollo showed himself to them and initiated them as citizens and into his service. There is another story of Apollo guiding a ship from Crete to Delphi, this time to save them from a storm. This may or may not be the same story.

The queen of Boeotia Ino had raised her baby nephew Dionysus. Ino was a human, and so was her sister (Dionysus' mother), Semele. Semele was a priestess of Zeus, and had slept with him. She died by asking Zeus of proof of his deity-ness. Zeus grievingly sewed the fetal Dionysus into his thigh. When Dionysus was born Zeus gave him to Hermes to be given to Ino, Dionysus' aunt. She was advised to disguise him a girl, to hide him from Hera. Nevertheless Hera learned of this plot. As her form of vengeance she sent Ino and her husband Athamas on a hallucinatory trip. Athamas saw Ino as a lioness and was pursuing her, trying to kill her. Ino carried her son Melicertes to protect him and ran away from her delusional husband. But she did not see the cliff by the sea and ran right over the edge. Dionysus was elsewhere, swifted away by someone else, disguised as a goat. There are few different tales for what happened after Ino and her son Melicertes toppled over into the sea. In one they were transformed into gods. Ino became Leucothea and her son became Palaemon. As Palaemon he was rescued by a dolphin and put under a pine tree in Corinthia.

When Dionysus was older some Etruscan pirates kidnapped him, thinking he was a prince. He made vines grow upon the mast and sails and turned the oars into serpents. The pirates jumped overboard and began to drown. Pitying them, he changed them into dolphins. In this way they could now be of service to humanity, by rescuing people who had jumped overboard or fallen from shipwrecks.

Dolphins are said to be the messengers of Poseidon. Aphrodite and Apollo think they are sacred.

Artistic representation of dolphins were found at the ruined palace of the city Knossos, Minoa. Paintings of dolphins have also been found in Iklaina, Mycaenaea.

Rome: Cupid is sometimes depicted as riding a dolphin.