Pegasus
:
Flying Horses redirects here. For the carousel in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, see
Flying Horses Carousel.
For other uses see Pegasus (disambiguation). |
Pegasus and Bellerophon, Attic red-figure |
In
Greek mythology,
Pegasus (
Greek:
Πήγασος) was a winged horse that was the son of
Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the
Gorgon Medusa. Depending on the historical source, the plural for
pegasus is
pegasi or
pegasuses.
Descriptions vary as to the winged stallion's birth and his brother the giant,
Chrysaor; some say that they sprang from Medusa's neck as
Perseus beheaded her, a "higher" birth, like the birth of
Athena from the head of
Zeus. Others says that they were born of the earth as Medusa's blood spilled onto it, in which case Poseidon would not be their sire. Athena caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the
Muses at
Parnassus.
Hesiod connects the name
Pegasos with the word for "spring, well",
pÄ"gÄ"; everywhere the winged horse struck hoof to earth, an inspiring spring burst forth: one on the Muses'
Mount Helicon, the
Hippocrene ("horse spring"), at the behest of Poseidon to prevent the mountain swelling too much and another at
Troezen. The actual etymology of the name is most likely from
Luwian pihassas "lightning", or
pihassasas, a weather god (the god of lightning). In Hesiod, Pegasos is still associated with this original significance by carrying the thunderbolts for Zeus.
Pegasus aided the hero
Bellerophon, who is a double in some way for Perseus, in his fight against both the
Chimera and the
Amazons. There are varying tales as to how Bellerophon found Pegasus; some say that the hero found him drinking at the
Pierian spring and that
Polyidus told Bellerophon how to find and tame him, others that either
Athena or Poseidon brought him to Bellerophon.
Prior to aiding Bellerophon, Pegasus brought thunderbolts to
Zeus, and following Bellerophon's death he returned to
Mount Olympus to aid the gods. In his later life, Pegasus took a wife, Euippe (or Ocyrrhoe) This family is the origin of the winged horses.
Pegasus was eventually turned into a
constellation, but a single feather fell to the earth near the city of
Tarsus (hence its name).
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Pegasus (constellation) *
Pegasus (computer)
