Amphora depicting boy on dolphin, Athena-Bowdoin, Nicholson Museum
Ancient Greeks considered dolphins the lords of the sea, helpers of fishermen, and symbols of good luck.
As intrepid seafaring folk, the ancient Greeks were particularly fond of dolphins, and there are many strange tales about dolphins, men and the gods that frequently appear in classical mythology.
The dolphin was considered the lord of the sea, a well-known helper of fishermen, and a symbol of good luck, according to Italian historian and archeologist Brunilde Ridgway in her essay Dolphins and Dolphin-Riders. The dolphin was believed to foretell its own death and would come ashore to seek burial. It was also considered unlawful to kill a dolphin and the tribes that did so were considered barbaric because there was “nothing more godlike than a dolphin”.
Given the dolphin’s status and its appeal, it is not surprising it was a favoured design and illustration on everything from earrings and necklace clasps to vessels for storing and serving wine. Clothes were embroidered with dolphins and there were dolphin-shaped terracotta vases. One example of an amphora that features a boy on a dolphin is at the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum.
At the museum, senior curator Jamie Fraser and I examine the pot, which dates from between 500BC and 475BC. He says there are several stories about boys astride a dolphin, which was a powerful image in ancient Greece. And while it is not known which specific myth this pot is illustrating, he has narrowed it down to several stories.
There is, for instance, the story of Palaimon, a young, dolphin-riding sea god who rescued sailors in distress. Or, Fraser says, the pot could refer to a myth about Taras, a son of Poseidon. Taras was shipwrecked but some dolphins rescued him and took him to the nearest land, where a city was founded and named in his honour.
To commemorate this event, the town minted coins featuring a boy on a dolphin. Interestingly, that ancient city is now the modern town of Taranto in southern Italy and, Fraser says, “even today, some 2500 years later, the symbol of that city is still the boy astride the dolphin”.
Fraser’s favourite story, however, concerns Hermias of Iasos. One day a dolphin saw Hermias, a beautiful young boy, and fell in love. Each day Hermias would ride the dolphin far out to sea. But there was a storm and he tragically drowned. The dolphin brought the body back to shore and it beached itself to die, heartbroken, beside the dead boy.
But the best-known story of a dolphin rider is that of poet Arion, as told by Herodotus in the fifth century BC. The most famous musician of his day, Arion was sailing home to Corinth flush with money when the sailors decided to rob him and throw him overboard. He begged to be allowed to sing one last song, which he did, but then, surprising everyone, he jumped overboard. A dolphin, lured to the ship by Arion’s song, rescued him and carried him safely home.
Fraser explains this pot was made in Athens, one of the most powerful Greek city-states at the time, and it has been attributed to the Athena-Bowdoin workshop. Moreover, it represents a new style of painting, red-figure, which had come into vogue because of its versatility and detail: “They started to experiment with much more emotive scenes, like this one here, because there is a lot of emotion in that very simple figure, especially knowing some of the myths.”
Fraser says this is a “vibrant, dynamic piece” that is a crowd favourite. “We have it right at the front door and people very rarely walk past this without stopping.
“There is something about it: it is arresting, and with so much detail, like the tail going into the border, which just makes me smile. Even though there are elements of tragedy in some of these stories, there is such positivity about this piece. The boy looks like he is having a great time with the dolphin. It’s a very happy image.”
Amphora depicting a boy on a dolphin (500-475 BC).
Attributed to the Athena-Bowdoin Painter. Collection Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney. On display in the exhibition Alpha Omega: Tales of Transformation, Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney, Camperdown.
