Pegasus

From TinWiki.org

Mythical Flying Pegasus

Pegasus is a mighty winged horse of Greek myth who carries the thunderbolt of Zeus. According to legend, Pegasus is the son of Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the Gorgon Medusa.

With a slash of his hoof, he created the Hippocrene, a sacred spring of the Muses on Mt. Helicon. Hence, he has often been associated with the arts, especially poetry.

The horsemaster Bellerophon tamed Pegasus with a golden bridle provided by the goddess Athena. Together horse and rider slew the fire-breathing monster Chimera. (Legends vary, but some say Pegasus and Bellerophon performed other heroic deeds together.)

Finally, Bellerophon tried to fly to heaven to join the gods, but Pegasus threw him off and the two were separated forever, with Pegasus living on as a constellation of stars.

The flight of Pegasus is often regarded as a symbol of poetic inspiration.

1 Origins and Creation
2 The Story of Pegasus
3 In Science and Astronomy
4 Also on TinWiki
5 External Links
6 Relevant discussion threads on AboveTopSecret.com

[edit]

Origins and Creation

There are two versions of the winged stallion's birth and his brother the giant, Chrysaor.

One version claims that they sprang from Medusa's neck as Perseus beheaded her, a "higher" birth, like the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus.
Another version speaks of them being born of the Earth as Medusa's blood spilled onto it, in which case Poseidon would not be their sire. A variation on this tale holds that they were formed from the mingling of Medusa's blood and the sea foam, thus including Poseidon in their making.

[edit]

The Story of Pegasus

Pegasus was the son of Poseidon, the god of earth, and Medusa, a lovely young mortal. Poseidon became infatuated with her, seducing her into the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. An infuriated Athena took her anger out on Medusa, turning her into a Gorgon, a horrifying immortal woman with snakes for hair and whose glance would turn a person to stone. However, because Medusa had not been born a Gorgon, she was not immortal

[edit]

Perseus

King Polydetes fell in love with a woman, Danae, who had a young son named Perseus. Danae did not want to marry the king, and Perseus tried to protect her from him with little success. Finally, the king told Perseus if he could bring back the head of a Gorgon, his mother would be free. The king was confident that Perseus would fail, becoming nothing but a statue in the process.

Perseus agreed, seeking the goddess Athena for advice. She gave him two valuable tools: the winged shoes of Hermes and a highly reflective shield. Perseus used the shoes to fly to the land of the Gorgons. He then used the shield as a mirror so he could see Medusa without directly looking at her, avoiding being turned into stone. Seeing her reflection, he lopped off her head with a stone.

One version of the myth has Pegasus being born from the blood which flowed from Medusa's neck, while another says that the white horse was created when Medusa's blood was mixed with the foam of the sea, while yet another says he was created when the blood hit the ground and mixed with the earth.

[edit]

The Muses

After being born, Pegasus flew away to Mount Helicon where he landed, the mere touch of his hooves creating springs. One of these springs was the famous Hippocrene (horse) spring. Mount Helicon was known as the place of the Muses, and it is Pegasus' connection with this place, and with the Muses, that has made him an inspiration to many artists and authors.

[edit]

Bellerophon

Pegasus could be captured and ridden, and was by a man named Bellerophon. Bellerophone was a great warrior who is best known for killing the fire breathing chimaera that had been terrorizing the city of Lycia. He was sent on this mission by Proteus, who chose Bellerophon for the mission not only because he was a great warrior, but because he was afraid that his young wife was becoming infatuated with him.

Ballerophon accepted the mission and went to see Polyeidos, Lycia's wisest man, for advice. He was told to spend the night in the temple of Athena; that night, Athena appeared to Bellerophon and advised him to capture the white winged horse whom she said could be found at the Pierian spring. Beside him the next morning, he awoke to find that the goddess had left him a magic golden bridle which would allow him to tame the wild horse.

It was only with Pegasus' help that Ballerophon was able to kill the Chimaera. The pair was sent on many other quests after this, all in an attempt to kill Ballerophon, for Proteus' young wife was still very much infatuated with him. All attempts failed, and the pair seemed to be invincible.

Crystal Pegasus

Iobates came to the conclusion that Bellerophon must be a favorite of the gods and offered him his daughter in marriage, making Bellerophon the next in line for the throne. Bellerophon, however, had become arrogant and the fine offer wasn't enough for him. He wanted to become a god, and like a fool, tried to fly Pegasus up to Mount Olympus. Zues was not pleased and sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus, causing Bellerophon to fall to the ground. Instead of becoming a king or a god, he became a blind cripple

[edit]

Pegasus' Destiny

Pegasus, however, was honored by Zeus, given a special stable and the job of carrying Zeus' thunderbolts. Pegasus later found a mate, Euippe, and had two offspring: Celeris and Melanippe. From this family came a new race of winged horses. Pegasus was not immortal, so on the last day of his life, Zeus transformed him into a constellation where we can still see him today.

It is said that at the moment of transformation, a single feather fell to the earth in the city of Tarus.

[edit]

In Science and Astronomy

Constellation Pegasus

The Winged Horse, in astronomy, an autumnal constellation. Pegasus is usually identified by the four bright stars α, β, γ, and α (Alpha Andromedae) situated on the corners of a large square known as the Great Square in Pegasus (see illustration). The star Alpheratz at the northeastern corner of the square is really in the constellation Andromeda. See also Constellation.

Line pattern of the constellation Pegasus. The grid lines represent the coordinates of the sky. The apparent brightness, or magnitude, of the stars is shown by the sizes of the dots, graded by appropriate numbers.

[edit]