THE SHIELD OF HERACLES—DOLPHINS _ g1 
suitable background (as the fields, etc., in the ancient Pastorals 
torm an artistic background to the shepherds) for the solitary 
figure. 
“ But, on the crag a fisher sate 
Observant ; in his grasp he held a net, 
Like one that, poising, rises to the throw.” 
The occurrence here of the Dolphin, together with the part 
that it played in the recovery of Hesiod’s body, makes this 
an appropriate place for a brief résumé of the position occupied 
by this fish in Greek and Roman authors, and of the many 
pretty legends in which for all time its memory is en- 
shrined.1 
The myth of the Dolphin—a creature of lightness and 
swiftness—as the protégé of the gods and the helpmate of man 
stands out as a purely Hellenic conception, and contrasts 
sharply with that of the Tortoise, unmoving, half-hidden, 
which according to Eastern belief supports the weight of the 
world. 
In Greek and Latin literature (exclusive of the recipes of 
the gourmets or the rhapsodies of the opsophagi) no fish wins 
more frequent mention or higher appreciation than the 
Dolphin. 
And justly so, since, of a nature essentially philanthropic, 
it delights to be with man, and aid man by willing services.? 
Pliny, indeed, confesses that he could never reach the end of 
the stories about their kindly acts, especially towards the 
young. He notes that they found pleasure not only in the 
society of man, but also in music, precipue hydrauli sono, or 
1 From the fish (in old English daulphin) came apparently the title of the 
eldest son of the kings of France from 1349 to 1830. According to Littré 
the name Dauphin, borne by the lords of the Viennois, was the proper name 
Delphinus (the same word as the name of the fish), whence the province subject 
to them was called Dauphiné. Humbert III., on ceding the province, made it 
a condition that the title should be perpetuated by being borne by the eldest 
son of the French king. A, Brachet, An Etymological Dict. of the French 
Language® (Oxford, 1883), p. 113, states that the title—peculiar to S. France— 
first appears in 1140: ‘‘ the origin is obscure, though it certainly represents 
the Delphinus.” 
2 Lucian (Dialogues of the Sea Gods, VIII) offers an unexpected explanation 
of this trait. On Poseidon’s commending the fish for the rescue of Arion, 
the Dolphin makes answer: ‘‘ You need not be surprised to find us doing a 
good turn to Man: we were men before we were fishes.” 
H 
