Phaedimus
That the shield of Odysseus had a dolphin emblazoned on it, StesichorusEdmonds, Lyra Graeca, ii, p. 66, frag. 71. also has related; and the Zacynthians perpetuate the reason for it, as CritheusNothing whatever is known about this author, whose name may be given incorrectly in our mss. testifies. For when Telemachus was a small boy, so they say, he fell into the deep inshore water and was saved by dolphins who came to his aid and swam with him to the beach; and that was the reason why his father had a dolphin engraved on his ring and emblazoned on his shield, making this requital to the animal.
Yet since I began by saying that I would not tell you any tall tales and since, without observing what I was up to, I have now, besides the dolphins, run aground on both Odysseus and Coeranus to a point beyond belief, I lay this penalty upon myself: to conclude here and now.
Aristotimus
ARISTOTIMUS.Perhaps rather Heracleon (975 c) or Optatus (965 d). So, gentlemen of the jury, you may now cast your votes.