Arion and the Dolphins
Herodotus tells us that in the time of Periander the tyrant of Corinth (which would be about 625 BC), there was a great singer whose name was Arion. Arion sailed from Corinth to Sicily to sing in a singing contest there. Because Arion was such a great singer, he won all the singing contests and got tons of prizes. He had heaps of gold and jewels. When the contest was over, Arion got on a ship with all his prizes to go home to Corinth.
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But once they were out of sight of shore, the sailors on the ship decided to steal Arion's gold and jewels. Arion begged the sailors to just take his prizes and let him live, but they thought it was too dangerous to let him live. So he asked them to let him just sing one last song before he jumped into the ocean, and they agreed to let him sing one last song. As the last notes of his song were dying away, Arion jumped into the water with his lyre.
But a family of dolphins had been listening to Arion's beautiful song. Just as Arion was drowning, the dolphins swam over and picked him up. Arion rode all the way back to Corinth on the back of a dolphin. When he got there, he told the tyrant Periander what had happened. Periander waited for the sailors to get to Corinth; then he arrested them and got all the gold and jewels back.
To find out more about Greek myths, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Greek Myths for Young Children, by Heather Amery (Usborne, 2000). My niece really likes this one. For younger children.
Greek Myths for Young Children, by Marcia Williams (1995). In comic-book format. My son loved it.
D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, by Edgar and Ingri D'Aulaire. For older kids.
Mythology by Lady Hestia Evans, Dugald A. Steer (Editor)(2007) - My daughter loved this one! A new book in the Fairyopolis, Dragonology, etc. series.
Pandora's Box: A Three-Dimensional Celebration of the Mythology of Ancient Greece, by Sara Maitland and Christos Kondeatis (1995). Not really about Pandora specifically, but a complex of stories, games, and puzzles about Greek mythology. All ages.
Greek Religion, by Walter Burkert (reprinted 1987). By a leading expert, for adults. He has sections on each of the Greek gods, and discusses the deeper meanings of the Greek myths, and their function in Greek society.
Teaching and Dramatizing Greek Myths, by Josephine Davidson (1990). Advice for middle school teachers on teaching Greek myths by having the students write and perform skits.
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