Mural of the winged horse Pegasus, Turkey.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of Corel corporation.
Pegasus
Pegasus was a winged horse created by the sea god
Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa. The Gorgon Medusa was once a beautiful Lybian princess. Because she was seduced by the sea god Poseidon in the temple consecrated to Athena, Athena transformed her into a monster. She also had hair of serpents and anyone who looked at her face was turned into stone.
Perseus, an ancient Greek hero, was
sent on a mission to fetch Medusa's head. Having learned Perseus'mission, Athena offered him a magical mirror in which he could see the reflected image of Medusa. He could now avoid being turned to stone. Hermes gave him a pair of winged sandals that enabled him to fly and the helmet of Hades that made him invisible.
With these wonderful weapons, Perseus reached Medusa while she was asleep and decapitated her. From her neck sprang out the warrior Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus who had been conceived by Poseidon's seed before Medusa's body was transformed.
After his birth, Pegasus lived on the Mount Helicon until he was tamed by
Bellerophon. Bellerophon believed he could fly with Pegasus to Olympus, where the
gods lived.
When Zeus learned about his intentions, he sent a horsefly to bite Pegasus. Bellerophon lost control of his horse and fell back to the Earth in a
bramble bush. His sudden fall made him blind and lame. Pegasus continued to fly and reached Olympus, where
Zeus received him. Since then, Pegasus transports for Zeus
the thunderbolts forged by the Cyclopes. For his precious help, Pegasus was
immortalized in the night sky by Zeus in the constellation bearing his name.
You might also be interested in:
Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief deity of the Navajo Indians. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. Each of the four cardinal directions was supported by a giant. Each direction was also associated
...moreAmphitrite was one of the fifty Nereids, the attendants of the sea-god Poseidon. Poseidon (Neptune) had fallen in love with Amphitrite after seeing her dancing on the island of Naxos. Amphitrite rejected
...moreAphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and
...more In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. Leto travelled all over Greece
...moreAccording to an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the nighttime sky by the goddess Hera to form the constellation Cancer. Hera was the jealous wife of the sky god, Zeus.
...moreIn the Northern Hemisphere sky is the constellation Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and that of his wife Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia claimed that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphs,
...moreAccording tho the Navajo mythology, the Milky Way was created by the misbehavior of the mischievous deity, Coyote. When the world was created, the Holy People gathered around Black God to place the stars
...more