Greek Myths - Dionysus & The Pirates
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Would you rather be a courteous sailor, or a dolphin?
When he was young, Dionysus asked a group of Tyrrhenian sailors for passage on their ship from the island of Icaria to that of Naxos. Thinking him to be wealthy, and noting him to be really quite attractive, they agreed. Though the sailing was not as plain as Dionysus would have hoped - after a while, the ship was steered off course, as the piratical sailors decided they could make more money holding him to ransom than they could simply providing him with safe passage. And that way they could also have a, um, bit of fun. With the young boy. (Not all sources mention rape attempts.) The helmsman, Aeoctes, sensed Dionysus to be more than a wealthy piece of totty, and tried to protect him for the voracious attentions of the other crew members, but was beaten off for his troubles. However. The ship then became deathly still, vines and creepers entwined themselves about the mast and oars, and the deck was suddenly filled with wild beasts. Some say the captain was eaten by a lion. (Others say, 'well if you think that, you probably had it on good authority, we'll believe you'.) All are agreed that the sailors worked themselves into such a frenzied panic at these sights that they leapt into the sea. At which point Dionysus helpfully turned them into dolphins. Seemingly solely so as we could now attribute dolphins friendly intelligence to their once having been predatory pirates with a taste for young boys. Hmm.
When he was young, Dionysus asked a group of Tyrrhenian sailors for passage on their ship from the island of Icaria to that of Naxos. Thinking him to be wealthy, and noting him to be really quite attractive, they agreed. Though the sailing was not as plain as Dionysus would have hoped - after a while, the ship was steered off course, as the piratical sailors decided they could make more money holding him to ransom than they could simply providing him with safe passage. And that way they could also have a, um, bit of fun. With the young boy. (Not all sources mention rape attempts.) The helmsman, Aeoctes, sensed Dionysus to be more than a wealthy piece of totty, and tried to protect him for the voracious attentions of the other crew members, but was beaten off for his troubles. However. The ship then became deathly still, vines and creepers entwined themselves about the mast and oars, and the deck was suddenly filled with wild beasts. Some say the captain was eaten by a lion. (Others say, 'well if you think that, you probably had it on good authority, we'll believe you'.) All are agreed that the sailors worked themselves into such a frenzied panic at these sights that they leapt into the sea. At which point Dionysus helpfully turned them into dolphins. Seemingly solely so as we could now attribute dolphins friendly intelligence to their once having been predatory pirates with a taste for young boys. Hmm.
