History and Myth of Pegasus, Medusa and Bellorophon

March 30, 2021 0 Comments

Pegasus is the winged horse from Greek mythology. The horse is usually white, beautiful and is the symbol of strength, inspiration and flight. She was born from the blood of Medusa (a beautiful young maiden), when she was killed by Perseus with his magic sword. The god of the earth, Poseidon was the father of Pegasus.

Poseidon fell in love with Medusa, seduced her to the temple of Athena (goddess of wisdom). Because of this, Athena was enraged and took it out on Medusa. She was so angry that she turned the maiden into a Gorgon, a terrifying female creature with poisonous snake hairs and whose gaze will turn a person to stone.

One day, King Polydetes fell in love with Danae, a woman who had a young son named Persues. Persues tried to protect his mother who did not want to marry the king but had little success. The king would let his mother do what she wanted if Perseus could bring back the head of a Gorgon. Of course, the king was so sure that Persues would fail.

Eventually, Persues accepted the deal and began seeking advice from the goddess Athena. Perseus received two valuable tools: a highly polished reflective shield and Hermes’ winged shoes. Perseus used the shoes to fly to the land of Gorgon. The shield was used as a mirror so that Perseus could see Medusa without looking directly at her. Seeing Medusa’s reflection, Perseus cut her head off with his sword.

Although strong and powerful, Pegasus could be captured and ridden. The horse was captured by Bellerophon, a man who was known as a great warrior for slaying the fire-breathing Chimera (an animal with the head of a goat, dragon, and lion that had been terrorizing the city of Lycia). He was the grandson of Sisyphus. Proteus sent him on this mission because he was not only a great warrior, but also because he was afraid that his young wife would fall in love with him. By firing Bellerophone, Proteus believed he could solve the problem and end the matter before it began.

Bellerophone accepted the mission and began seeking advice from the wisest man in Lycia, Polyeidos. The sage told him to spend the night in the temple of Athena. Athena appeared to him that night and advised him to capture the winged white horse, Pegasus, whom she claimed could be found at Pierian Spring. Bellerophon was given a magical gold bridle so that he could tame the wild horse.

According to the story, it was only with the help of Pegasus that Bellerophon was able to complete his difficult task of killing the Chimera. This duo were sent on many other missions after this, and of course with an attempt to kill Bellerophon. However, all attempts failed and the pair appeared to be invincible.

However, knowing they were unbeatable, Bellerophon took pride and wanted more power. Bellerophon wanted to become a god and tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus. Zeus was not happy about this and sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus, causing him to fall to the ground. His attempt failed, and instead of becoming a god, he was left blind and crippled.

Pegasus, however, was honored by Zeus. The horse was given a special stable and allowed to bring thunderbolts and lightning bolts for Zeus. Later, Pegasus found a partner, Euippe, and they had two children, Melanippe and Celeris. From this family arose a new breed of winged horse. Although Pegasus was not immortal, Zeus transformed him into a constellation on the last day where we can still see him today.

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