Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek Mythology, was involved in some of the most intriguing tales of the times.
From his birth to his death, Pegasus remained a mysterious creature capable of everything, symbolizing the divine inspiration or the journey to heaven, since riding him was synonymous to “flying” to the heavens.
Pegasus was represented as a goodhearted, gentle creature, somewhat naive but always eager to help.
For his service and loyalty, Zeus honored him with a special immortality turning Pegasus into a constellation on the last day of his life.
Pegasus, son of Medusa and Poseidon
The myth said that Pegasus was the son of mortal Medusa and Poseidon, god of the sea. Pegasus and his brother Chrysaor were born from the blood of their beheaded mother Medusa, the gorgon tricked and killed by Perseus.
A more detailed version of the myth said that two of them were born when Medusa’s blood mixed with the foam of the sea. The myth says that Pegasus was born as a winged horse because his father Poseidon had the shape of horse when seducing Medusa. When Pegasus was born, a huge thunder with lightning pierced the sky, and that’s how his connections to the forces of skies were established.
But the most common version of the myth about Pegasus says that the goddess Athena tamed the winged horse and gave him to Perseus, who later needed to fly far away to help his lover Andromeda.
Pegasus and the Muses
Back to the aftermath of Pegasus’s birth. Parentless, he was raised by the Muses at Mount Helicon, where he was taken by goddess Athena. In all of his excitement for being given to those women, Pegasus was striking the side of the mountain with his hooves and his marks caused springs to turn into flowing fountains of inspiration.
Those springs became sacred to the Muses who loved and respected the “flying horse”. But to one of them – Urania, the Muse of Astronomy and Universal Love, Pegasus was particularly important. She saw a heroic future for Pegasus as well as some, possible celestial honor waiting for him. Urania suffered a lot when Bellerophontes, a mythical hero, took Pegasus away.
Hesiod’s story about the Bellerophontes’s “hijack” of Pegasus confirmed that whenever Pegasus struck his hoof a fountain of inspiration burst immediately. One of those sacred springs was the Hippocrene (meaning “horse spring”) on Mt Helicon.
On Mount Olympus
In any case, Pegasus ended up on Mount Olympus, and served Zeus with his thunder and lightning magic powers, whenever the Supreme God wished for them. And his main caretaker from the youth, the Muse Urania, together with other Muses, welcomed Pegasus’s return in full joy and happiness.
Pegasus lived on Mt Olympus until his last day. Ever since then, he became an inspiration for artists of all kinds, a fantasy for kids who dream of their own Pegasus to reach the mysterious caves and labyrinths of their imagination.