Dolphin Folklore

The cross-cultural body of belief that dolphins are friendly guides and rescuers of seafarers. Greek tradition held the dolphin sacred to Poseidon and to Apollo at Delphi; Arion of Methymna was said to have been carried ashore by a dolphin after leaping into the sea, a tale told by Herodotus (Histories, Book 1, 5th century BC). Sailors long read dolphins riding the bow wave as a sign of fair weather and good fortune, and killing one was thought unlucky. The motif recurs from Mediterranean coin imagery to Pacific and Maori accounts of guide-dolphins.