ABSTRACT
According to Pausanias, Coresus, a priest of Dionysus at Calydon, fell in love with a girl called Callirrhoe, who rejected his suit. Dionysus, in answer to his prayers, sent madness upon the people of Calydon. They were told by an oracle that to cure their affliction they must sacrifice Callirrhoe to Dionysus unless she could find a substitute for herself. It was Coresus’ task to carry out the sacrifice, and at the moment of its execution he decided to offer himself as a substitute for Callirrhoe, plunging the knife into his own breast. Then Callirrhoe, who until this moment had been indifferent and even hostile to Coresus, was filled with remorse and stabbed herself as well.
