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Dolphins of the Ancient World

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Introduction

Dolphins are beautiful and intelligent creatures much admired in the modern world. They were also revered by ancient societies, with the gods Poseidon, Apollo and Aphrodite in particular having connections with them. This has resulted in these wonderful creatures being associated with a rich body of mythology, which is beautifully depicted on ancient coins.

Mythology

Dolphins are integral to the very foundation of Greek mythology. Homer (Hymn 3) tells us that, after the birth of the god Apollo on Delos, he sought a site for his shrine and found one in the area of Krisa in Mount Parnassus. Apollo then looked for mortals to serve as his priests, and on spotting a Cretan ship, transformed himself into a dolphin which led the ship to Krisa, where the sailors were informed that they would now forsake their wives and homes to tend Apollo’s shrine. The spot was now known as Delphi (delphis was Greek for dolphin) and the shrine was known as the Delphic shrine. By the fifth century BCE, this shrine was to become one of the most important sites of the ancient world, and was the site of the Delphic oracle, also known as the Pythia (Fig. 1).

Another myth involving the transformation of the god Apollo into a dolphin is the myth of Arion, who was a travelling musician returning to his home in Corinth after earning money from his singing. The crew of the ship he was travelling in conspired to kill him and take his money. Apollo appeared to Arion in a dream to warn him of this and when the sailors attacked he asked to be allowed to sing once more. The sailors allowed this last request and when he was singing a group of dolphins gathered round the ship. Arion dived in and was carried to safety by one of the dolphins. When the ship arrived in Corinth the sailors were apprehended and executed. To commemorate the story, Apollo changed Arion’s lyre and the dolphin into the constellations Lyra and Delphinus (Grimal, 1991; Ovid, Fasti, 3rd February) (Figs. 2 & 3).

Figure 1- Modern day Delphi (photograph by author)
Figure 2- Constellation Lyra
Figure 3- Delphinus the Dolphin

Olbia Dolphin Coins

The first Greek coin which celebrates dolphins is the coinage of Olbia in Thrace, which is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea in modern day Ukraine. The bottlenose dolphins that swam in the Black Sea were the inspiration for this very early form of bronze cast coinage dating to 500-400 BCE. These bronze dolphin figures may originally have been votive objects placed in shrines of Apollo, but as they have also been found in coin hoards, it seems likely that they became proto-money. Proto-money is any form of early coinage that people of developing societies agreed to accept in trade. As Olbia was an important trading hub between Greece and Scythia from the seventh century BCE, the development of proto-money would seem a logical progression. Due to the casting process, many have lost their tails (Fig. 4) but some remain intact, with an obvious dorsal fin, eye and tail (Fig. 5) (forumancientcoins.com, n.d.).

Figure 4- Olbia, Thrace, dolphin bronze unit, 5th-4th century BCE (photograph by author)
Figure 5- Olbia, Thrace, dolphin bronze unit, 5th-4th century BCE (photograph by author)

Bottlenose dolphins still swim in the Black Sea to this day. Unfortunately, the numbers of Black Sea dolphins have been severely impacted by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with mines, underwater explosions and, in particular, power sonar from Russian submarines causing an environmental catastrophe for marine creatures. Scientists estimate that one third of the Black Sea dolphin population has perished during the conflict (Greer, 2022). 

Taras Coins

Our next Greek coin to be discussed is from a Greek colony in Tarentum, Italy, which was colonised by Spartans. The obverse of this third century BCE didrachm coin celebrates the Tarentines’ fondness for horse racing, with a youth on a horse being depicted crowning himself (in some versions, the youth is crowning the horse) (Fig. 6). The reverse depicts Taras, the patron deity of Tarentum, who was the son of Poseidon (god of the sea) and a local nymph named Satyra. Taras is always depicted riding a dolphin and carrying various desirable objects. In the coin in Figure 7, the objects are a branch of some sort (possibly a palm branch, which was often given as a prize to winners in athletic competitions), and a spindle (possibly indicating domesticity). Other depictions show various objects such as a cup, trident, shield, bunch of grapes or cornucopia (Grimal, 1991; Smith, 1998).

Figure 6- Tarentum, Calabria didrachm 280-272 BCE. Obverse. Youth on horse crowning himself, ionic capital below (photograph by author)
Figure 7- Tarentum, Calabria didrachm 280-272 BCE. Reverse. Taras on dolphin, holding palm branch and spindle (photograph by author)

This coin therefore represents a Greek colony in Italy which became a wealthy trading port with military power, the obverse representing their love of horses and horse riding, and the reverse celebrating their patron deity, as well as alluding to their naval prowess.

Coins of Syracuse

Another Greek colony in Italy which successfully showcased its wealth and military might was Syracuse in Sicily during the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. This is demonstrated in the Arethusa coins, thought to be among the most beautiful and desirable coins ever produced. On the obverse of these coins, a charioteer and quadriga is depicted, with Nike hovering above ready to crown either the charioteer or the horses. Syracuse was famed for its chariot racing, which was in turn symbolic of its wealth and military prowess (Fig. 8).

Figure 8- tetradrachm, Syracuse, 485- 465 BCE. Obverse: slow quadriga, right, Nike crowning horses. Photograph by author, courtesy of Hunterian GLAHM 47568.

The reverse of the coin depicted a beautiful girl in various guises, surrounded by four dolphins: this is Arethusa, the patron deity of Syracuse (Fig. 9).

Figure 9- tetradrachm, Syracuse, 485-465 BCE. Reverse: head of Arethusa, right, surrounded by four dolphins, swimming clockwise. Photograph by author, courtesy of Hunterian GLAHM 47568.

 In Greek mythology, the river god Alpheus desired Arethusa, who was a water nymph of Artemis, and had therefore taken a vow of chastity. On rejecting Alpheus, Arethusa was pursued over land and sea over many hundreds of miles from Greece to the island of Ortygia, adjacent to Syracuse. In Ortygia, with Alpheus closing in, Artemis finally answered Arethusa’s prayers to be spared of rape and transformed her into a freshwater spring (Grimal, 1991). Arethusa has various manifestations on coins but is always beautiful young girl surrounded by four dolphins, representative of both her status as a water nymph and her journey through the sea to escape the river god. The artistry of these coins is often superb, and the Arethusa coins are some of the few coins in which die engravers, such as Eumenos, Parmenides and Kimon, have signed their work. The Signing Artist Period of Syracusan coinage occurred during a short period between 420 and 395 BCE. Apart from the names of these artists, no other details are known about their lives, such as how they were trained or how they were paid (Wallenbrock, 2023).

These coins from the fifth and fourth centuries BCE therefore represent the prosperity and cultural sophistication of the Greek city state of Syracuse under the leadership of rulers such as Gelon, Hieron I and Dionysius I, who wished to showcase Syracuse’s military and naval prowess, as well as its prestigious chariot races. These coins were therefore not just currency, but powerful tools of propaganda in promoting the city’s wealth and cultural accomplishments. These beautiful coins remain much desired in the modern world and command high prices in the modern numismatic market, particularly those where the coinage has been signed.

Summary

To summarise, dolphins were much revered in the ancient world due to their strong connections to the gods. As well as ancient Greek societies celebrating these wonderful creatures on their early coinage, city-states such as Tarentum and Syracuse used dolphins as symbols indicating that they were closely connected to certain gods, thus legitimising their dominance in the world, as well as symbolising their wealth, power and naval superiority.

Please join me for my next post, where I’ll be discussing the beautiful Arethusa coins in more detail.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary scholarship

One response to “Dolphins of the Ancient World”

  1. Andrea Cuthbertson avatar
    Andrea Cuthbertson

    Lovely blog and looking forward to the next one. Dolphins also revered by me lol xx

    Reply

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Hello,

I’m Catherine

Welcome to my Classics blog. I am a recent MSc Classics and Ancient History graduate from the University of Glasgow and will be publishing posts on the ancient world. My main interests include Myth, Reception Studies and Numismatics. I also have a medical degree which brings a different perspective to topics around the ancient world.

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