The legend of Arion

"Arion and the Dolphin"

“Greek lyric poet and celebrated zitherist of the 7th century BC,  Arion is a native of Lesbos, the island where poetry was born. Coming back from a tour in Sicily, he was crowned the champion of a large singing competition.  On his return trip, the sailors on his chartered ship decide to kill him and rob him of his winnings.  They do however allow him to say his goodbyes.  Arion clothes himself in his ceremonial dress, takes his zither, and, standing on the upper deck, starts singing his swan song with elegance.  He throws himself in the sea, but the beauty of his voice attracts a group of dolphins.  One of them takes him upon his back and carries him as far as Cape Tainaron, the gate to hell.  A new Orpheus, Arion crosses the immense universe of the sea and death.  He returns to life.  When hopelessly waiting for nothing, the unexpected arrives.  Arion is taken by the wheel of fortune.  The pirates are paradoxically the reason for the eventual initiation of the bard, that of his own death.  Arion must give everything, his money and his life, but that is still not enough.  By jumping over board, he gives up on himself.  He lets go and goes back to the unrelenting waves.  He no longer has anything to cling to, no life preserver.  When his hope disappears, the Dolphin appears.  Carried by the animal, Arion bathes in divine rest.  He sings the ineffable music of the spheres.  No words can say what love alone can translate.  The legend of Arion and the Dolphin crosses centuries losing neither its mystery nor its evocative powers.  The Dolphin’s cry reminds us that the golden age lies within us.  To join the Dolphin and find our answers in him, we must leave everything, renouncing the security offered by our old ship."

  (Excerpt translated from the book Arion et le dauphin by Yves Moatty, appeared in the publication Les deux oceans in 2004).