Well, you made me google this: More than we need to know
Pegasus (
Greek: Πήγασος,
Pégasos, Latin
Pegasus) is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in
Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually depicted as white in color. He was sired by
Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the
Gorgon Medusa.
[1] He was the brother of
Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to
Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of
Hippocrene, the fountain on
Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero
Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation
Pegasus and placed him up in the sky.
Hypotheses have been proposed regarding its relationship with the
Muses, the gods
Athena,
Poseidon,
Zeus,
Apollo, and the hero
Perseus.
The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of the poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the 19th century. Pegasus is the subject of a very rich iconography, especially through the ancient Greek pottery and paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance. Personification of the water, solar myth, or shaman mount, Carl Jung and his followers have seen in Pegasus a profound symbolic esoteric in relation to the spiritual energy that allows to access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus.
In the 20th and 21st century, he appeared in movies, in fantasy, in video games and in role play, where by extension, the term "pegasus" (plural: "pegasus") is often used to refer to any winged horse.
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