Attributed to the Painter of the Dublin Situlae (mid-4th century BCE). For hundreds of years, Greek and Roman poets regarded the waters of the Hippocrene as a source of divine inspiration.įragment of a terracotta volute-krater depicting Pegasus an arm, possibly Bellerophon's, can be seen holding the reins. In one myth, Pegasus’ great hoof struck the ground on Mount Helicon, the sacred home of the Muses, and created a spring called the Hippocrene. Poseidon was usually named as the father of both creatures, even if the mechanics of his paternity were obscure at best. When Perseus, the hero of Argos, beheaded Medusa, Pegasus was born from her blood, together with the Giant Chrysaor. The Gorgon Medusa, whose gaze famously turned humans to stone, was once a lover of the sea god Poseidon. Chrysaor’s son-and thus Pegasus’ nephew-was Geryon, a monster with three bodies who was slain by Heracles. His father was usually said to be Poseidon, who had been Medusa’s lover. Pegasus’ mother was Medusa, from whose blood he was born. He was an especially popular subject for the vase painters of Corinth, Bellerophon’s hometown. In ancient art, Pegasus was most often depicted with Bellerophon, either flying or battling the Chimera. Pegasus was usually imagined as an immortal being, and many ancient sources associated him with a constellation in the night sky that was eventually named after him. National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Over time, it became increasingly common to depict Pegasus as pristinely white.Īttic epinetron showing Pegasus, Bellerophon, and the Chimera (ca. In literature and the visual arts, Pegasus was almost always represented with wings, but in some rare cases he appeared as an ordinary horse. Pegasus was a horse who had the ability to fly. In other myths, Pegasus made his abode with the gods on Mount Olympus, where he served as Zeus’ thunder-bearer. He had especially close ties with springs such as the Hippocrene, the spring of the Muses, and the Peirene, where he was eventually captured and tamed by Bellerophon. Pegasus roamed far and wide throughout the cosmos. Since Pegasus was often imagined as the thunder-bearer of Zeus, it has been suggested that Pegasus’ myth and name were derived from Pihassasi. This stem is attested in the name of the Anatolian weather god Pihassasi, who was responsible for thunder and lightning. Some have connected Pegasus to the stem * piḫašš-, which means “lightning” or possibly “strength” in the Luwian language spoken in ancient Anatolia. Modern scholars have suggested other possible origins for the name. According to the poet Hesiod, who described the birth of Pegasus in his Theogony, the name “Pegasus” was derived from the Greek word pēgē, meaning “spring,” because he had been born “near the springs of Ocean.”
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