Roger said do you know any stories
about dolphins and I did know a story about dolphins because I'm a classicist
and I spend all my time reading Greek and Latin which is far too hard
for any of you but one of the things that really used to delight me
- there's a Roman poet called Ovid and Ovid tells a story about Dionysus
- I don't think you know about Dionysus - a Greek God - the Romans called
him Bacchus - Michaelangelo did a painting of him and in Micaelangelo's
painting you see him there with his face red because he's been drinking
too much and he has a crown of vine leaves on, which are over to one
side and he's got a goblet which is just beginning to dribble and his
lips are stained purple because Dionysus - Bacchus - is the God that
brought us the grape and not just the grape - all those things that
go bump in the night - all of those strange things that escape evade
reason - all of those things that happen - that bubble up and break
through reason - he's the God of theatre isn't he? - of masks and strange
- anyway Ovid says that there were some Greek sailors - rough men on
a trading vessel and they were trading amongst the Greek Islands and
it came to evening and as happened in those times they stopped - they
put themselves ashore to spend the night on the beach and when they
woke up in the grey morning they saw a little boy under a hedge - the
little boy was waking up and his lips were stained purple and he was
a little bit drunk - a beautiful little boy - and these Greeks being
Greeks thought we could get this boy and we could sell him so they said
to him would you like to come aboard our ship and the little boy said
no - so - well are you sure you wouldn't like - he said where are you
going and they said where would you like to go and he said Nexos because
that's where I live and they said we're going to Nexos and the little
boy got aboard the boat and off they went and the little boy said -
he's out at the front of the boat - and the little boy said this isn't
the way to Nexos and they said oh it is but we have to go a circuituous
route and after a bit the little boy said well this still isn't the
way to Nexos and they said oh don't worry we'll soon be there and then
the third time the little boy said... this isn't the way to Nexos...
and they said don't worry we'll take you where we want to go and as
they said that they heard a crackly sound and the mast of the ship began
to splinter and throw off little sprouts and the mast of the ship began
to turn - to change into a great vine loaded with grapes and the oars
that the men were pulling became pliant and floppy and they turned into
ivy and when they looked up at the little boy he was surrounded on his
bench where he sat by dreadful and cruel monsters - tigers and lions
and panthers and on his head was a crown of vine leaves and of grapes...