In Plutarch's book On the Cleverness of Animals explanation was made of Odysseus worship of dolphins. Apparently Odysseus' son, Telmachos, fell into the sea and was saved by a dolphin. "And this was why his father had dolphins engraved on his ring and emblazoned on his shield, making his requital to the animal". A more familiar occurrence is mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Arion, a rich poet and musician had his life threatened by pirates on board his ship. His last will was to sing one last song, and since he must die, he wished to jump overboard, taking his own life. After a very high-pitched, long, whaling song, Arion jumped overboard. But he did not drown. A dolphin carried him about 200 miles to shore. The Greek people say that Arion was not a god and that this is true and happened while Pereander was king (about 60 years BC). This incident was also recorded by historian Herodotos and others.

In about the year 200 AD Athenaios and Aelian both told the following story. A boy, Dionysios, had somehow made friends with a wild dolphin. The village people would come out on 'weekends' to watch the boy and dolphin play. It seems that the dolphin would take the boy far out to sea and stay gone for a 'long' time, possibly most of the day. No definite times were given. Hence the length of this relationship is not known, but the fact that 'rarely did anyone come anymore' made it sound like old stuff. Possibly it went on for several years before the dolphin met his tragic end. He followed the boy too far one day and was stranded on the beach. No one was around to help carry the dolphin back to sea and the dolphin died.

In Sumeria, dolphins were connected to Ea-Oannes, the deity of the sea, and sometimes with the goddess Isis in Egypt. The ancient Celts attributed the dolphin with well-worship and the healing powers of water, and the image of people riding dolphins is seen on some Celtic artefacts. Some Australian Aboriginal tribes claim to be direct descendants of dolphins, who are sometimes regarded as guardian spirits. The dolphin is also an important symbol in heraldry, the art of creating coats-of-arms, and represents diligence, salvation, charity and love.

The Maoris of New Zealand have a legend that says they were lead to their promised land by a group of dolphins, who helped them to the shore. In the modern world, tales of dolphins saving humans by battling sharks, helping drowning people ashore and even guiding life boats to victims of shipwrecks frequently make it to the papers. Such actions of compassion are deeply touching, especially when considering the many ways in which dolphins and whales are mistreated by humans. It is no wonder that for the ancient Greeks and Romans, Christians and Native Americans, the dolphin is a symbol of protection, and its image is said to bring good luck.

Perhaps the only species that compares well with Homo Sapiens in intelligence, dolphins possess an innate gentleness and a mysterious power to trigger the healing process in humans. "What makes dolphins exceptional in therapeutical fields," explains Rene, "is the use of their sonar with which they echolocate their prey. There is evidence that dolphins trigger the healing process in humans by boosting the production of T-cells and endorphins. After patient and dolphin interactions, scientists have measured a far greater harmony between the left and right sides of the brain." He informs that dolphins produce an intense amount of echolocation energy, which resonates in the bones, such as the skull and the sternum, and then travels up the spine.

"Many therapists believe," says Amanda Green, a marine biologist, "that a dolphin's sonar causes a phenomenon called cavitation inside the soft body tissue of the human body. It precipitates a ripping apart of the molecules." So, if sonar does that with cellular membranes, it could completely change the biomolecular structure. She adds, "many hospitals already use a lithotripsy machine that uses low frequency sound waves to break up kidney stones and gall stones. The physics of that machine are not different from a dolphin's sonar."

When you encounter a wild dolphin in open waters, something breaks open the conditioned seals of your heart. "Dolphins make you feel accepted as you are, with unconditional love," explains Amanda. This, she feels, leads to a profound inner peace that reaches out to embrace the universe. In scientific terms, this is biophillia, the transformative power that links you to nature, and, going by recent research, dolphins could be the most powerful carriers of this emotion.

Millions of years ago, a cow-like creature resembling a wolf in appearance, walked on the land in the continents now known as Europe, Asia and North America. These animals were of the now extinct family of Mesonychidae, and as they competed for food on the land, some began to search the waters for food. Generation after generation passed, and the Mesonychidae began to adapt in their new environment. They lost their fur to become more streamlined, enabling them to swim more easily, leaving bare skin over a thick layer of blubber to provide insulation in cold water. Their entire body too was re-shaped to become streamlined; external ears vanished, front legs became flat pectoral fins (flippers) to provide steerage and the back legs were replaced by a muscular tail ending in broad flukes (tail-fins) which, when moved up and down, provided propulsion. To make breathing at the water's surface more efficient, their nostrils moved to the top of their heads and became blow-holes. Thus, from the land-dwelling family of Mesonychidae a new family was born: the family of whales and dolphins.

Dolphins have never in all our history been known to attack man -- even when man tries to make him. The dolphin will resist even until his death. This alone leads me to believe that there is something superior in dolphins than in any other creature.........including man. C.S. Lewis, in Perelandra (book two of his space trilogy), wrote about a planet where God had created two intelligent species....one that walked on the ground and one that swam in the oceans. What if.......

Dolphins recognize themselves in mirrors—one of the few mammals other than humans that have the ability to do so, according to a new study published this week.

Described in the May issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that dolphins not only can recognize themselves in a mirror but also can notice changes in their appearance.

Prior to this research, only higher primates, such humans and chimpanzees, had demonstrated self-recognition in mirrors.

MissAFortiori wrote:Thank you for the thread. I'll eat up anything of this type.