Pegasus
Pegasus Seiya
Japon
9 min read
Winged horse of Greek mythology, born from the blood of Medusa when Perseus severed her head. Tamed by the hero Bellerophon with a golden bridle, he helped him defeat the Chimera. He ended his celestial journey among the stars, transformed into a constellation by Zeus.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born from Medusa's blood when Perseus severed her head — attested in Hesiod (Theogony, line 280, 8th c. BCE)
- Tamed by Bellerophon using a golden bridle given by Athena or Poseidon, depending on the version
- Flies with Bellerophon to slay the Chimera, the fire-breathing monster — mentioned in the Iliad (Book VI)
- The Hippocrene spring on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses, is said to have gushed forth from a strike of Pegasus's hoof
- Zeus transforms him into a constellation after his death or ascent to the heavens — he becomes the horse of thunder
Works & Achievements
Ridden by Bellerophon, Pegasus made the victory over the Chimera possible by allowing the hero to attack the monster from the air. This is the central heroic deed associated with Pegasus throughout the entire Greek tradition.
With a strike of his hoof on Mount Helicon, Pegasus caused this sacred spring to burst forth, and it became the symbol of poetic inspiration for the Muses and artists from Antiquity to the present day.
After his arrival on Olympus, Pegasus was entrusted by Zeus with carrying his lightning and thunderbolts — a divine mission that definitively confirmed his status as a celestial creature.
Pegasus aided Bellerophon in several trials imposed by King Iobates: defeating the Amazons and fighting the Solymi. These shared exploits forged one of the most celebrated hero-and-animal pairs in all of mythology.
At the end of his earthly life, Zeus transformed Pegasus into a constellation, immortalizing him in the starry sky. This catasterism is the mythological crowning of an extraordinary existence.
Anecdotes
Pegasus was born in an extraordinary way: when Perseus cut off the head of Medusa, the Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone, a magnificent winged white horse sprang forth from her blood as it spilled onto the ground. This miraculous birth made him an immediately divine creature, associated with the power of life surging forth even from death.
To tame Pegasus, the hero Bellerophon received a golden bridle from the goddess Athena in a dream. With this divine gift, he was able to approach the winged horse near the spring of Pirene in Corinth and master him without violence. This episode illustrates that great heroic undertakings always require the aid of the gods.
Riding Pegasus, Bellerophon accomplished one of the most celebrated feats in Greek mythology: he defeated the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. By flying over the monster from the air, he could attack it without risking being burned or devoured.
The creation of the Hippocrene spring is one of the most enduring deeds attributed to Pegasus: with a strike of his hoof on Mount Helicon, he caused a spring of pure water to gush forth. This fountain became sacred to the Muses and to poets, who drew their inspiration from it — hence the expression still used today of a "source of inspiration.
Bellerophon, intoxicated by his successes, one day attempted to ride up to Olympus to join the gods. Zeus, angered by this sacrilegious audacity, sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus. The horse reared up, throwing his rider, who fell back to earth, while Pegasus continued his flight all the way to Olympus, where Zeus took him into his service to carry his thunderbolts.
Primary Sources
From Medusa and the god of the bronze neck were born Chrysaor and Pegasus the horse. The latter takes his name from having been born near the springs (pēgai) of Ocean. Pegasus flew away and, leaving the nurturing earth, arrived among the Immortals, where he dwells in the house of Zeus, bearing the thunderbolt and lightning.
Bellerophon, who eagerly desired to capture Pegasus, son of the serpent-haired Gorgon, spent the night beside the altar of Athena. The goddess appeared to him in a dream and gave him a golden bridle; in the morning, near the spring of Peirene, he found the horse and tamed it.
The gods commanded Bellerophon to slay the Chimera, a monster of divine and not human stock — with the head of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and a goat in the middle — that breathed terrible and devastating fire.
With a strike of his winged hoof, Pegasus struck the side of Mount Helicon. The water gushed from the rock with great force. The nine Muses watched in wonder at the new spring that the celestial horse had just brought forth for their inspiration.
Pegasus, born from the blood of Medusa, was raised by the Muses on Mount Helicon. Zeus, to reward his divine nature, transformed him into a constellation and placed him among the stars, visible in autumn in the northern sky.
Key Places
It was near this sacred spring in Corinth that Bellerophon managed to capture Pegasus as the winged horse came to drink. The spring was considered a meeting place between the human world and the divine.
With a strike of his hoof, Pegasus caused the Hippocrene spring to burst forth on this mountain — a sacred site of the Muses and poetic inspiration. Helicon was the mountain dedicated to the arts throughout the entire Greek tradition.
A region of Asia Minor where Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, fought and defeated the fearsome Chimera. This territory was ruled by King Iobates, who had commissioned the heroic feat.
The highest peak in Greece and home of the gods, where Pegasus came to dwell after throwing Bellerophon from his back. Zeus welcomed him there and entrusted him with the task of carrying his thunderbolts.
Zeus transformed Pegasus into a constellation visible in the northern hemisphere's autumn sky, recognizable by its "Great Square." This celestial immortalization is the ultimate reward of the winged horse.
