Sardonic laughter

Explanation

Aeschylus, in his On Proverbs, says of this thus: "Those inhabiting Sardinia, being colonists of the Carthaginians, used to sacrifice to Cronus those who had passed seventy years, laughing and embracing each other; for they thought it shameful to weep and lament. Hence affected laughter is called Sardonic." But Timaeus says they used to set their parents in the pits where they were going to be cast, beat them with rods, and hurl them down; and as they perished, they laughed because of the wrong of their children and from the conviction that they were dying blessedly and well. Some derive it from the island of Sardinia: for a certain herb grows there, those who taste of which die in convulsions and laughter. Others say that laughter performed in pretence is called Sardonic, from "grinning" with the teeth. Simonides says that Talos, before his coming to Crete, dwelt in Sardinia, and destroyed many of those there; who, dying, used to grin, and from this came the Sardonic laughter. Concerning Talos this is told in myth: they say he was of the brazen race; and was given by Hephaestus to Minos for the guarding of Crete. He had a single vein stretching from neck to ankles; and at the skin's surface a bronze nail was driven through this vein. Three times each day Talos used to traverse the island and watch over it. Therefore he tried to prevent the Argo, sailing with Jason returning from Colchis, from putting in at the island. Deceived by Medea he died — as some say, she casting madness on him by drugs; as others, having promised to make him immortal and drawing out the nail, the ichor flowed out with all his blood, and so he died. Some say he died shot in the ankle by Poeas.