The Dutch Tiphys

...borders from our sea The Mediterranean as far as that part of Arabia that reaches the Red Sea original Latin: Erythræum mare. It is said that Cepheus had a daughter of extraordinary beauty sought by many suitors, including a certain Phoenix and Cepheus's own brother, Phineus. But Cepheus, after weighing various considerations regarding both men, finally decided to betroth his daughter to Phoenix. He chose to mask his own consent, however, by staging a kidnapping of the girl. Thus, Andromeda was snatched away from a certain deserted island where she used to go to offer sacrifices to Venus The Roman name for Aphrodite, goddess of love.. While Andromeda was being carried off in Phoenix’s ship—which was named the Sea Monster original Latin/Greek: Cetus, either because of its resemblance to that creature or by some other chance—she wailed miserably and tearfully called for help, as if her father knew nothing of the plan. By chance, Perseus, the son of Danaë, was sailing past and halted his course. At the first sight of the girl, he was seized by both pity and love. He then captured that ship named the Cetus and killed the crew, who were turned nearly to stone with fear. This, then, is the "Sea Monster" of the Greek fable, and these crewmen were the men "turned to stone" by the sight of the Gorgon's head In myth, Perseus used Medusa's severed head to petrify his enemies; the author here suggests this was a metaphor for their paralyzing terror during a naval boarding.. And Palaephatus, in the first book of his Incredible Tales original Latin: Mirabilium Historiarum—the only one of five volumes that survives today—reclaims this same fable for historical truth in a slightly different manner.

Bellerophon (he says) was a Phrygian, a man of Corinthian descent, noble and good, who, having built a long ship, plundered coastal regions. The name of the ship was Pegasus, just as every ship today has its own name. original Greek: Βελλεροφόντης (φησὶ) ἦν Φρύγιος, ἀνὴρ τὸ γένος Κορίνθιος, καλὸς κἀγαθὸς, ὃς πλοῖον κατασκευάσας μακρὸν ἐλήϊζετο τὰ παραθαλάσσια χωρία. ὄνομα ἦν τῷ πλοίῳ Πήγασος, ὡς καὶ νῦν ἕκαστον τῶν πλοίων ὄνομα ἔχει. Bellerophon, he says, was a Phrygian, a Corinthian by birth, a strenuous man, who, having built a long ship, [raided] from maritime locations...