ARION

[Greek heroic] Singer and poet of Methymna on Lesbos. He stayed for a long period of time at the court of Periander in Corinth. When he traveled from there to Italy, the sailors of his ship decided to kill him in order to steal his possessions. Arion, noticing the peril he was one, requested to sing one final song. He moved to the stem and sang his most beautiful song, after which his threw himself into the sea. A dolphin, attracted by his voice, took Arion upon his back and brought him safely to the Cape Taenarum, the southernmost point of the Peloponnesus. From there he traveled back to Periander where his ship arrived some time later. The sailors told the story that Arion had stayed behind in Italy, but they were exposed through the sudden appearance of Arion. Arion is also the name of the lightning-fast and immortal horse of Adrastus.