Pegasus

Belerofonte and Quimera (425–420 BC).

In Greek mythology, Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος) is a winged horse. He was the first horse that came to be among the gods. Pegasus was the horse of Zeus, who took him to Olympus and had a stable built for him next to the lightning cellar. Along with his brother Chrysaor, he was born from the blood shed by Medusa when Perseus cut off her head. She this she was one of the three Gorgon sisters: the others were Esteno and Euríale. It is usually represented in black or white and has two wings that allow it to fly. A characteristic of his flight is that when he does it, he moves his legs as if he were actually running through the air. Although the most widespread statement, even among specialists, is that the classical sources never present Perseus mounted on the back of Pegasus, since he flew thanks to the winged sandals that Hermes had given him, the truth is that this association already occurred in the Antiquity, and probably as early as the Archaic period, since Hesiod applies the epithet 'horseman' to Perseus and Ovid unequivocally states that he rode 'on a winged horse'. Furthermore, the first plastic representations of Pegasus mounted by Perseus also date back to Antiquity, since a melia terracotta plate from the V span> a. C. shows the hero with the head of Medusa and on the back of a horse that, although it does not have wings, must be identified with Pegasus, since in another melia plate Bellerophon also rides on a non-winged horse.

Pegasus appears fundamentally related to the hero Bellerophon, who on the back of the winged equine managed to kill the Chimera, a multi-headed beast (among them one of a lion and the other of a goat) that devastated the territories of Lycia. Thanks to this steed Bellerophon he also managed to win a victory over the Amazons. Bellerophon embodies the defect of excessive ambition. When he finally manages to mount Pegasus, not content with this, he forces him to take him to Olympus to become a god, but Zeus, annoyed by his audacity, sends an insignificant mosquito that bites Pegasus's back and plunges Bellerophon into the void without kill him, leaving him crippled and condemned to wander apart from the rest of the world all his life remembering his past glory.

The legend of Pegasus may have influenced the formation of the Buraq figure in Islamic tradition. He is one of the most famous horses in literature along with Rocinante (Don Quixote de la Mancha's horse), Babieca (El Cid's), Bucephalus (Alexander the Great's) and the Trojan horse.

Pegasus sculpture in front of the Palace of Fine Arts, CDMX.

Ancient written sources

Of all the fantastic creatures in Greek mythology, Pegasus is one of the most famous. Episodes of the myth of him come from the Greco-Roman poets. The oldest written source is that of Hesiod, in the 9th or 8th century BCE, who speaks of the birth of Pegasus and the Chimera in his Theogony. Ovid recounts his birth in "The Metamorphoses", Hyginus describes several episodes in his "Fables", and Pindar tells of how Bellerophon captures Pegasus in { in the VI AEC. It is very difficult to restore a chronological order to the Pegasus story. Many authors evoke this myth more or less briefly, sometimes contradicting each other.

Origin

Pegasus could have its origin in observing natural forces.

Several authors and researchers have examined the origin of the Pegasus myth, with various competing schools of thought. In 1955, Édouard Will favored a purely European origin. The theory most accepted by historians at the beginning of the XXI^e siècle suggests that it is of Asian origin.

An Asian storm god

The myth of Pegasus probably originated from the Lycian and Assyrian gods. As horse historian Marc-André Wagner points out, the earliest depictions of winged horses date from the 19th century BC. C., among the proto-Hittites. It is possible that the myth spread later to the Assyrians and later to Asia Minor and Greece. The lightning-bearing animals are of oriental origin, and the horse replaces the bull in this role. Based on the works of philologists and specialists in the Hittites, this theory suggests that Pegasus derives from an ancient storm divinity known to the Louvitophone peoples.

This storm deity has the epithet Piḫaššaš(š)i- ('lightning'), and it is mainly because of the phonetic similarity between this name and the Greek Pegasos so it has been proposed that the latter derives from the former, a proposal that is generally accepted. For the rest, there is no specific element that links this god with a winged horse, the fact that horse races are held during the festival dedicated to him and that the god's chariot is drawn by horses do not constitute true parallels.

This Luwian name would have evolved into Lycian and ancient Greek, losing most of the original elements, becoming the Greek myth of Pegasus in

the clothing of an indigenous deity

related to storms. Historians assume the existence of a cult of this ancient deity thanks to a Luvic hypostasis. Much of the myth of Pegasus and Belerefonte relates adventures in Lycia (Asia Minor), which illustrates the special links of this region with the city of Corinth, of which Pegasus was one of the emblems.

A totally imaginary being

Other theories see Pegasus as a totally imaginary being. His figure could have come from the observation of natural forces (storms, rivers that remind the course of a horse, etc.), or from the observation of birds whose wings would have become a metaphor for speed, and would have given rise to the figure of the winged horse in various regions of the world.

The biological non-existence of Pegasus is not an obstacle to its existence in the classical imaginary; one question that this myth raises is that of the construction of the figure of the winged horse. Pegasus, like the sphinx, the centaur or the griffin, is composed of elements that really exist, namely a horse and the wings of a bird. The invention process combines existing elements, through imagination. Although Pegasus does not exist in the physical world, it has a form of reality in the realm of dreams, the supernatural, and mythology: physical reality is constitutive of internal reality. Every person who imagines Pegasus creates & # 34; his of & # 34; Pegasus, assigning it a certain color, a certain way of flying or other peculiarities based on what he knows, has read or seen.

Birth

Scene in which Medusa is decapitated by Perseus, and they also seem Pegasus and Crisaor showing the cut neck. Edward Burne-Jones Gouache.

Pegasus is considered to be the son of the god Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa. Hesiod says that

Poseidaôn (Poseidon) with black hair unites with Medusa (Medusa) in a soft meadow, in spring flowers

The epithet "with black hair" it is more recently translated as 'Dark Mane', indicating that Poseidon takes the form of the horse to unite with Medusa. Ovid's version is more complete.

Comparative mythology

The figure of the winged horse is universally present in Eurasia. The winged horses of Tarquinia among the Etruscans, Chollima in Korea, Ponkhiraj in Bangladesh, Tarkshya in India, Tianma in China, or Tulpar among the Tartars attest to the popularity of this creature. The Pegasus myth shares common features with other accounts, although it is not always clear if there are common inspirations or influences. Comparative mythology allows us to highlight these commonalities between the myths and traditions of the Indo-Europeans.

The idea of a common origin of the Pegasus myth and Indian traditions was very popular in the 19th century. Alfred Maury and Charles-François Dupuis related it to the creation of the springs of Ashvamedha (Vedic horse sacrifice), and to a tradition in which a horse spits from its hoof the inspired drink that opens the eyes of the mind and provides the vision of heaven The latest incarnation of Vishnu, the white horse Kalki, is seen as a winged horse that will destroy the world with a blow of its hoof. The hero Vêdu owns a magnificent white snake-killing horse, which is said to embody the sun as Pegasus. The birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor would thus be close to the Vedic beliefs that personify the vegetable principle born from the waters. The creation of the Ashvins by Vivasvat and Saranya is also mentioned in parallel.

The general idea is that these Indian and Greek horses evoke a primordial plant god that emerged from water, the origin of all life. It is questioned by the Croatian philosopher Marina Milićević-Bradač. The theme of the horse that crosses the water with its rider to cover great distances is found in Celtic mythology, in the Rig-Veda, and in regions as varied as Ireland, Greece, Northern Europe, Persia and India. This theme is largely reflected in the shamanic mount of the Finno-Ugric supreme god, a winged white stag that allows its rider and master to roam the world at full speed. These fabulous steeds usually have a morphological characteristic, such as wings, an abnormal number of limbs or several heads. The Proto-Indo-Europeans remained in close contact throughout prehistory, suggesting a common shamanically inspired myth before the dispersal, or at least a common influence: that of a psychopomp horse that crosses borders (symbolized by water) and travels between worlds..

Pegasus in a statero cut dated in the centuryIIa. C.

Use of the mythological horse in the cinema

Pegasus has been one of the mythological horses most taken to the movies and one of the most needed by the Greek gods and heroes, just like the unicorn, being extraordinary beings that fit perfectly in fantasy and fiction films.

He also appeared in the Disney Pictures animated film Hercules (1997). In it, Pegasus is a gift from Zeus to his son Hercules. In addition, it can be seen in the films Clash of the Titans (1981), its adaptation Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans, where appears next to Perseus and helps him transport.

A pegasus is the logo of the production company TriStar Pictures.