The Humans of the Sea
Human beings have always been
facinated by the dolphin. It is thought to be one of the most
intelligent, playful, friendly, and gentle of creatures.
Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks had a legend about
the dolphin. They believed that once upon a time, dolphins were
human. For one reason or another, the gods had sent them to live
in the sea. The Greek poet Homertells the following story: The
Greek god Dionysus was kidnapped by pirates. But he so frightened
the pirate crew with his feats of magic that they threw themselves
overboard and were at once turned into dolphins.
The tale caused the poet Ossian to write: "Diviner that the
dolphin is nothing yet created, for indeed they were aforetime
men, and lived in cities..."
Nowadays, no one really believes that dolphins were ever humans.
But some scientists believe that dolphins may be as intelligent
and perhaps more intelligent than people.
Many scientists don't agree. Many say that, right now, there's
just noway of telling.