Herodotus reports a story of Arion's life, according to this Arion traveled to Sicily and was expecting to find a better life. In Sicily he earned a lot of money using his art and after that he returned back to his homeland.

During his return travel, sailors strong-armed him and wanted to throw him at the sea. His last wish was to sing them.And so he did, he wore his best dress and sang an hymn dedicated to godess Diana, accompanied by his kithara.

A dolphin was captivated by Arion's voice, took him on his back and brought him to the land. He traveled until Corinth on foot where he mentioned to Periandros his adventure. Periandros arrested and killed the sailors.