Hippocampus drawn from a fresco in Pompeii

The hippocamp or hippocampus (plural: hippocampi)(Greek: ἵπποκαμπος, from ἵππος, "horse" and κάμπος , "monster"^[1]), often called a sea-horse^[2] in English, is a mythological creature shared by Phoenician^[3] and Greek mythology, though the name by which it is recognized is purely Greek; it became part of Etruscan mythology. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The Etruscans were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic It has typically been depicted as a horse in its forepart with a coiling, scaly, fishlike hindquarter. The buttocks (singular buttock) are rounded portions of the anatomy located on the posterior of the Pelvic region of the Apes including Humans

In mythology

Homer described Poseidon, who was god of horses (Poseidon Hippios) as well as of the sea, drawn by "brazen-hoofed" horses over the sea's surface, and Apollonius of Rhodes, being consciously archaic in Argonautica (iv. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Brass is any Alloy of Copper and Zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties The Argonautica ( Greek:) is a Greek Epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BCE. 1353ff), describes the horse of Poseidon emerging from the sea and galloping away across the Libyan sands. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab ^[4] In Hellenistic and Roman imagery, however, Poseidon (or Roman Neptune) often drives a sea-chariot drawn by hippocamps. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Neptune (Neptūnus is the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology, a brother of Jupiter and Pluto. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples Thus hippocamps sport with this god in both ancient depictions and much more modern ones, such as in the waters of the eighteenth-century Trevi Fountain in Rome surveyed by Neptune from his niche above. The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi is the largest — standing 25 The niche in classical architecture is an Exedra or an Apse that has been reduced in size retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse (illustration, left below)

Tritons and winged hippocamps in the Trevi Fountain, Rome

The appearance of hippocamps in both freshwater and saltwater is counter-intuitive to a modern audience, though not to an ancient one. Triton (Τρίτων gen Τρίτωνος is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi is the largest — standing 25 Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved The Greek picture of the natural hydrological cycle did not take account of the condensation of atmospheric water as rain to replenish the water table, but imagined the refreshening of the waters of the sea oozing back landwards through vast underground caverns and aquifers, rising replenished and freshened in springs. The Earth 's Water is always in movement and the water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on above The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to Atmospheric pressure. A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay ^[5]

Thus it was natural for a temple at Helike in the coastal plain of Achaea to be dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios, (the Poseidon of Helicon), the sacred spring of Boeotian Helikon. "Helice" redirects here For the Crab Genus, see Helice (crab. Achaea (Αχαΐα Achaïa, axaˈia in Polytonic orthography) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern Mount Helicon (Ἑλικῶν is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, with an elevation of 1749 meters (5735 ft ^[6] When an earthquake suddenly submerged the city, the temple's bronze Poseidon accompanied by hippocamps continued to snag fishermen's nets. ^[7]

Likewise, the hippocamp was considered an appropriate decoration for mosaics in Roman thermae or public baths, as at Aquae Sulis modern day Bath in Britannia (illustration, below). Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. For the Roman Baths complex at Aquae Sulis see Roman Baths (Bath. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol.

Hippocamp in Roman mosaic in the thermae at Aquae Sulis (Bath)

Poseidon's horses, which were included in the elaborate sculptural program of gilt-bronze and ivory, added by a Roman client to the temple of Poseidon at Corinth, are likely to have been hippocamps; the Romanized Greek Pausanias described the rich ensemble in the later second century CE (Geography of Greece ii. This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing. For the Roman Baths complex at Aquae Sulis see Roman Baths (Bath. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 1. 7-. 8):

"Within the sanctuary of the god stand on the one side portrait statues of athletes who have won victories at the Isthmian games, on the other side pine trees growing in a row, the greater number of them rising up straight. A sportsperson ( British and American English) or athlete (principally American English is any person who participates regularly in a Sport. The Isthmian Games or Isthmia ( Ancient Greek Ἴσθμια were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the On the temple, which is not very large, stand bronze Tritons. Triton (Τρίτων gen Τρίτωνος is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep In the fore-temple are images, two of Poseidon, a third of Amphitrite, and a Sea, which also is of bronze. In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (Ἀμφιτρίτη (not to be confused with Aphrodite) was a sea-goddess The offerings inside were dedicated in our time by Herodes Atticus, four horses, gilded except for the hoofs, which are of ivory, and two gold Tritons beside the horses, with the parts below the waist of ivory. Herodes Atticus ( also known by his Roman name Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes Marathonios (ca Triton (Τρίτων gen Τρίτωνος is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep On the car stand Amphitrite and Poseidon, and there is the boy Palaemon upright upon a dolphin. Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. These too are made of ivory and gold. On the middle of the base on which the car is has been wrought a Sea holding up the young Aphrodite, and on either side are the nymphs called Nereids.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Arion on a Sea Horse (1855)

Hippocamps appear with the first Orientalizing phase of Etruscan civilization: they remain a theme in Etruscan tomb wall-paintings and reliefs, where they are sometimes provided with wings, as they are in the Trevi fountain. William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30 1825 – August 19 1905 was a French academic painter. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy Katharine Shepard found in the theme an Etruscan belief in a sea-voyage to the other world^[8]

A sea-lion mosaic in the Baths of Neptune, Ostia Antica

Aside from aigikampoi, the fish-tailed goats representing Capricorn or Aegeus ("goat-man")^[9] other fish-tailed animals rarely appearing in Greek art but more characteristic of the Etruscans included leokampoi (fish-tailed lions), taurokampoi (fish-tailed bulls) or pardalokampoi (fish-tailed leopards). Ostia Antica was the Harbour of Ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe For the Spartan hero Aegeus see Aegeus (hero. In Greek mythology, Aegeus (Αἰγεύς also Aigeus, Aegeas The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The leopard (lɛpɚd Panthera pardus) is an Old World Mammal of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four roaring ^[10]

The mythic hippocamp has been used as a heraldic charge, particularly since the Renaissance, most often in the armorial bearings of people and places with maritime associations. In Heraldry and Vexillology, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people However, in a blazon, the terms hippocamp and hippocampus now refer to the real animal called a seahorse, and the terms seahorse and sea-horse refer to the mythological creature. In Heraldry and heraldic Vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of most often a Coat of arms or Flag, which enables a person to The above-mentioned fish hybrids are seen less frequently. ^[11]

In modern fantasy

In modern fantasy, this creature is a part of various milieus, including the stories of Harry Potter and the many fictional worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. Contemporary fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy, also known as modern-day fantasy, or indigenous fantasy. Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with unique background elements such as an imaginary history or geography and possibly fantasy or science Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by In both these examples, the Latin hippocampus is the form of the name which is used. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[12][13]

The Dungeons & Dragons context provides the following specific description:

The hippocampus is the most prized of the marine steeds, a creature that combines features of a horse and a fish. The hippocampus has the head, forelegs, and torso of a horse. The equine section is covered with short hair. The mane is made of long, flexible fins. The front hooves are replaced by webbed fins that fold up as the leg moves forward, then fan out as the leg strokes back. Past the rib cage the body becomes fish-like. The tail tapers 14 feet into a wide horizontal fin. A dorsal fin is located on the rump. Coloration is that of seawater. Typical colors include ivory, pale green, pale blue, aqua, deep blue, and deep green. "^[13]

The videogame Age of Mythology also uses the Hippocamp as a player controlled unit used for the exploration of the sea, available only to players who chose to worship Poseidon. Age of Mythology (commonly abbreviated as AoM) is a Mythology -based Real-time strategy computer game developed by

Notes

References

• Classical references: Homer, Iliad xlii. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient 24, 29; Euripides, Andromache 1012; Virgil Georgics iv. 389; Philostratus Imagines i. 8; Statius Thebaid ii. The Thebaid or Thebais (Θηβαΐς or Θηβαΐδα is the region of Ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt 45 and Achilleid 1. 25.
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities by William Smith (1870). The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities is an English-language Encyclopedia first published in 1842 and then in many revised editions through Sir William Smith (1813 &ndash 1893 English Lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents

External links

• Theoi Project - Hippokampoi
• A gold fibula, part of the "Lydian treasures" found in the former Lydian kingdom, made in the second half of the sixth century BCE.