carried him safely to shore. While Periander
believed Arion’s story, he was not too sure
how to interpret the miracle, superstitious as
he was, so he hatched a plan to put this bit of
the story to the test. He gave Arion quarters
in his palace and told him to hide away until
he next called for him. Periander then sent
his guards to find the supposed pirates and
to bring them to his palace, making sure
not to tell them about Arion.
When the pirates were brought before
Periander, he asked them if they had heard
any news of the famous singer. They said that
they had last seen Arion in Italy, at Tarentum,
where his performances were ever popular at
the local dinners and festivals, and that by all
accounts Arion had made lots of money. (They
did their best to hide their knowing smiles
when they said this.) As soon as they had told
their story, Arion burst into the room. The
pirates almost perished with shock. The color
bled from their sea-tanned faces. Arion stood
before them, dressed in the same robes that he
had worn when he’d jumped into the sea. It
was as if they had seen a dead man.
After Arion told them that Poseidon had
sent his dolphins to save him, the pirates
begged for his forgiveness. They were clearly
terrified that Poseidon would punish them
for their evil ways; but they should have been
more worried about Periander. He was out-
raged. Not only had these Corinthians tried
to kill his friend, but they had lied to him,
too! The tyrant of Corinth threw the pirates
into his dungeon, yelling at them what a
world it was when the sea had fish that were
more just than men. The door to the dun-
geon slammed shut, and after Periander had