Arion

Arion ərĭ´ən [key], Greek poet, inventor of the dithyramb. He is said to have lived at Periander's court in Corinth in the late 7th cent. BC A legend repeated by Herodotus tells how, having been thrown overboard by pirates, Arion was saved by a dolphin charmed by his music.

See A. W. Pickard-Cambridge, Dithyramb, Tragedy, and Comedy (1927, rev. 2d ed. 1966).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Classical Literature: Biographies