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Various

"Myths That Every Child Should Know A Selection Of The Classic Myths Of All Times For Young People"


For Athamas killed one of them in his fury, and Ino fled from him with
the other in her arms, and leaped from a cliff into the sea, and was
changed into a dolphin, such as you have seen, which wanders over the
waves forever sighing, with its little one clasped to its breast.
But the people drove out King Athamas, because he had killed his child;
and he roamed about in his misery, till he came to the Oracle in Delphi.
And the Oracle told him that he must wander for his sin, till the wild
beasts should feast him as their guest. So he went on in hunger and
sorrow for many a weary day, till he saw a pack of wolves. The wolves
were tearing a sheep; but when they saw Athamas they fled, and left the
sheep for him, and he ate of it; and then he knew that the oracle was
fulfilled at last. So he wandered no more; but settled, and built a
town, and became a king again.
But the ram carried the two children far away over land and sea, till he
came to the Thracian Chersonese, and there Helle fell into the sea. So
those narrow straits are called "Hellespont," after her; and they bear
that name until this day.
Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the northeast across the sea which
we call the Black Sea now; but the Hellenes called it Euxine. And at
last, they say, he stopped at Colchis, on the steep Circassian coast;
and there Phrixus married Chalchiope, the daughter of Aietes the king;
and offered the ram in sacrifice; and Aietes nailed the ram's fleece to
a beech, in the grove of Ares the war god.


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