Pegasus and Bellerophon

In Greek mythology, Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος, Pégasos, 'strong') was a winged horse that was the son of Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the Gorgon Medusa. 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 Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" In Greek mythology, a gorgon ( Greek: γοργώ or γοργών transl In Greek mythology, Medusa ( Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa "guardian protectress" was a monstrous Chthonic female character gazing upon

Etymology

Hesiod connects the name Pegasos with the word for "spring, well", pēgē; everywhere the winged horse struck his hoof to the earth, an inspiring spring burst forth: one on the Muses' Mount Helicon, the Hippocrene ("horse spring"), at the behest of Poseidon to prevent the mountain swelling too much and another at Troezen. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Mount Helicon (Ἑλικῶν is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, with an elevation of 1749 meters (5735 ft In Greek mythology, Hippocrene (Ἱπποκρήνη was the name of a fountain on Mt Troezen (ˈtriːzən Τροιζήν modern Troizina or Trizina, Turkish: Damala is a small town (pop The actual etymology of the name is most likely from Luwian pihassas "lightning", or pihassasas, a weather god (the god of lightning). Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian) is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the In Hesiod, Pegasos is still associated with this original significance by carrying the thunderbolts for Zeus. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Pegasus was at a well drinking silently when the hero Bellerophon came and captured him with a golden bridle that was given to him by Athena. Bellerophon (βελλεροφῶν or Bellerophontes (βελλεροφόντης was a Hero of Greek mythology, "the greatest hero and ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. Pegasus are also a sign of immortality

Birth

There are two versions of the winged stallion's birth and his brother Chrysaor:

• One is that they sprang from Medusa's neck as Perseus beheaded her, a "higher" birth, like the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. In Greek mythology, Chrysaor ( Greek: Χρυσάωρ Khrusaōr; English translation: "He who has a golden armament " the Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas ( Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας) the Legendary founder ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology
• Another says that they were born of the Earth as Medusa's blood spilled onto it, in which case Poseidon would not be their sire. A variation on this story holds that they were formed from the mingling of Medusa's blood and the sea foam, thus including Poseidon in their making.

Bellerophon caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the Muses at Mount Parnassus. In Greek mythology, the Muses ( Ancient Greek, hai moũsai: perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root * men- "think" are Mythology Mount Parnassus is named after Parnassos the son of the Nymph Kleodora and the man Kleopompus. After he became the horse of the Muses, he was at the service of the poets.

Adventures

Parthian era Bronze plate with Pegasus depiction ("Pegaz" in Persian). Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran Excavated in Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan, Iran. Masjed Soleiman (also transcribed as Masjid Soleyman and Masjid-e-Soleiman) (مسجد سلیمان in Persian) is a city in the Khuzestan Khūzestān (خوزستان is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics.

Pegasus aided the hero Bellerophon (or in later versions Perseus) in his fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons. Bellerophon (βελλεροφῶν or Bellerophontes (βελλεροφόντης was a Hero of Greek mythology, "the greatest hero and Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas ( Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας) the Legendary founder In Greek mythology, the Chimera ( Greek (Chímaira Latin Chimaera) was a monstrous creature of Lycia in Asia Minor The Amazons (in Greek, grc Ἀμαζόνες are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology, who were possibly historical There are varying tales as to how Bellerophon found Pegasus; the most common says that the hero was told by Polyeidos to sleep in the temple of Athena, where the goddess visited him in the night and presented him with a golden bridle. In Greek mythology, Polyeidos or Polyidus ("all-wise" was the wisest man in Lycia. ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. The next morning, still clutching the bridle, he found Pegasus drinking at the Pierian spring. In Greek mythology, the Muses ( Ancient Greek, hai moũsai: perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root * men- "think" are When the steed saw the bridle, he approached Bellerophon and allowed him to ride. Bellerophon slew the Chimaera on Pegasus' back, and then tried to ride the winged horse to the top of Mount Olympus to see the gods. Mount Olympus (Όλυμπος also transliterated as Ólympos, and on Greek maps Óros Ólimbos) is the highest Mountain in Greece However, Zeus sent down a gadfly to sting Pegasus, causing Bellerophon to fall all the way back to Earth^[1] the Plain of Aleion ("Wandering"), where he lived out his life in misery as a blinded cripple as punishment for trying to act as a god. The gadfly, a type of fly plaguing cattle typically ones belonging to either the family Tabanidae ( horse-flies) or the family Oestridae ( bot flies) appears in Also, he was kept as Zeus' servant and stayed with him, never seeing Pegasus again.

Afterward, Pegasus found sanctuary on the sacred mountain, where he carried Zeus' thunderbolts and was ridden by Eos, the goddess of dawn. For other uses of the name Eos see Eos (disambiguation. For the Slavic goddesses called the Auroras see The Zorya.

The Pegasus constellation, with the minimal Equuleus constellation (Equ) to the right

In his later life, Pegasus took a mate, Euippe (or Ocyrrhoe), and had two children Celeris and Melanippe. Pegasus (ˈpɛɡəsəs is a northern Constellation, named after the mythological winged horse Pegasus. Equuleus (ɨˈkwuːliəs little Horse, ie a Foal) is the second smallest of the 88 modern Constellations only Crux being smaller In Greek mythology, Ocyrhoe or Ocyrrhoe refers to three characters This family is the origin of the winged horses. Celeris is associated with the constellation Equuleus. Equuleus (ɨˈkwuːliəs little Horse, ie a Foal) is the second smallest of the 88 modern Constellations only Crux being smaller

Death

Pegasus was immortal. Because of his faithful service Zeus honored him with a constellation. In common usage a constellation is a group of celestial bodies that are connected together in some arrangement typically stars to form a visible figure or picture ^[2] On the last day of his life, when Zeus transformed him into a constellation, a single feather fell to the earth near the city of Tarsus. Tarsus ( Greek Ταρσός is a City, and a large district in Mersin Province, Turkey, from the city of Mersin and near (40

Modern day

In modern terminology, the word "pegasus" (plural "pegasi") has come to refer to any winged horse, though the term "pterippus" (meaning winged horse, plural "pterippi") is also used. Pegasus is also the symbol of the Mobil brand of gas and oil, marketed by the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Mobil Gas Station by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Mobil gas station East Village section of New York City]] Mobil was a major American oil company The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D As such, it has also been a symbol of Dallas, Texas, gracing its skyline atop the Magnolia building, since the 1930s. The Magnolia Hotel (sometimes still called the Magnolia Building, originally the Magnolia Petroleum Building) is a 29-story Beaux-Arts style, upscale ^[3]

In psychoanalysis, Freud interpreted the creature as an expression of the primal scene. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded

World War II

Pegasus and Bellerophon, Attic red-figure

During WWII, the silhouetted image of Bellerophon the warrior, mounted on the winged Pegasus, was adopted by the United Kingdom's newly-raised parachute troops in 1941 as their upper sleeve insignia. Bellerophon (βελλεροφῶν or Bellerophontes (βελλεροφόντης was a Hero of Greek mythology, "the greatest hero and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The image clearly symbolized a warrior arriving at a battle by air, the same tactics used by paratroopers. Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. The square upper-sleeve insignia comprised Bellerophon/Pegasus in light blue on a maroon background. The insignia was designed by famous English novelist Daphne du Maurier, who was married to the commander of the British parachute forces (and later the expanded British Airborne Forces), General Frederick "Boy" Browning. Daphne du Maurier Lady Browning DBE ( 13 May, 1907 – 19 April, 1989) (ˈdæfnɪ du ˈmɒɹieɪ was a British Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning GCVO, KBE, CB, DSO ( December 20, 1896 &ndash The maroon background on the insignia was later used again by the Airborne Forces when they adopted the famous maroon beret in Summer 1942. The beret was the origin of the German nickname for British airborne troops, The Red Devils. Today's Parachute Regiment carries on the maroon beret tradition.

During the airborne phase of the Normandy invasion on the night of 5-6 June 1944, British 6th Airborne Division captured all its key objectives in advance of the seaborne assault, including the capture and holding at all costs of a vital bridge over the Caen Canal, near Ouistreham. The 6th Airborne Division was an Airborne division in the British Army during World War II. Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region of France. In memory of their tenacity, the bridge has been known ever since as Pegasus Bridge. "Rolling bascule bridge" redirects here For other types of bridge referred to as "rolling" see Rolling bridge.

Popular Culture

• Pegasus is a character in the 1997 Disney animated film Hercules, in which he is the winged horse side kick and friend to Hercules the main character. Hercules is the Roman name for the Mythical Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena.
• In Clash of the Titans, Pegasus is captured by Perseus before Perseus visits and kills Medusa the Gorgon. Clash of the Titans is a 1981 Fantasy and Mythology movie based on the myth of Perseus. Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas ( Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας) the Legendary founder In Greek mythology, Medusa ( Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa "guardian protectress" was a monstrous Chthonic female character gazing upon In Greek mythology, a gorgon ( Greek: γοργώ or γοργών transl This version, therefore changes the method of Pegasus' birth - although no further details are given, save a comment from Zeus that Pegasus is the sole surviving winged horse from a herd of the creatures, the rest killed by Thetis' son, Calibos. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology This article is about the Greek sea nymph Thetis should not be confused with Themis, the embodiment of the laws of nature but see the sea-goddess Tethys.
• Pegasus is known for being the mascot of TriStar Pictures. TriStar Pictures Inc (spelled Tri-Star until 1991 is a film subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion
• The Taiwanese company Asus took its name from Pegasus, omitting the first three letters in order for the company to appear first in telephone listings. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated (Asus () ( is a Taiwan -based multinational company that produces Motherboards Graphics cards Optical drives Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information
• On an episode of Robot Chicken, Pegasus is caught in a bear trap planted by a demented little girl. Robot Chicken is an Emmy -Award Winning American Stop motion animated television series created by Seth Green and Matthew He asks the girl to help him, but she cuts off his wings, keeps him in a barn, paints him like a My Little Pony toy, and names him "Sunny Muffins," whipping him in the barn until he accepts his name (similar to Kunta Kinte's whipping in Roots). My Little Pony is a line of colorful Toy ponies marketed primarily to young girls and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. Roots is a 1977 American television Miniseries based on Alex Haley 's work Roots The Saga of an American Family Then she sits him down next to a painted griffin.
• In both versions of Battlestar Galactica, Pegasus is a Battlestar that survived the fall of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, later meets up with Galactica, and is destroyed in a battle against the Cylons. Battlestar Galactica is a franchise of Science fiction Films and television series, the first of which was produced in 1978 Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the re-imaged television series Battlestar Galactica. Battlestars are Capital ships from the Science fiction universe of Battlestar Galactica, depicted in the original Battlestar The Twelve Colonies of Man or Twelve Colonies of Kobol constitute the main human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica Television series
• Pegasus was chosen for the academic seal of the University of Central Florida, in 1963, by its first president, Dr. Charles Millican, who co-designed it. Charles N Millican was the founding President for the University of Central Florida (although UCF was originally named Florida Technological University
• In Stargate Atlantis, Pegasus refers to the home galaxy of a race called the Ancients. They lived in the Pegasus galaxy millions of years ago. Until about 10,000 years ago they were in conflict with the Wraith, with their city being under siege for many years. It was concluded that they could not survive the persistent siege from the Wraith and decided to submerge their intergalactic vehicle city named Atlantis onto the ocean floor. The Ancients then evacuated to several places including Earth, in the Milky Way galaxy via the Stargate. In the present day, Atlantis is inhabited by an Internatianal Exploration team from planet Earth and uses the city as headquarters for their many adventurers in the many galaxies out there. Today, Atlantis is floating on the ocean's surface due to the exploration teams arrival and the city having insufficient power from a Z. P. M. (Zero Point Module) to power a protective energy shield.
• Pegasus is the name of a medevac helicopter based at the University of Virginia Medical Center. The University of Virginia (also called UVa, UVA, Mr Jefferson's University, or The University) is a highly selective public research Pegasus transports critically injured patients within a 120 nautical miles of Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville is an Independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States The name was chosen because it was different from most other medevac programs, and there are stories of Pegasus carrying wounded soldiers from battle. ^[4]
• In the movie, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Pegasus is the winged horse who helps Princess Annika
• In the Companions Quartet, including Secret of the Sirens, Gorgons Gaze, Mines of the Minotaur and Chimeras Curse, Col Clamworthy was Companion to the Pegasi. Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus (alternate title Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus 3D) is a 2005 computer animated direct-to-video Secret of the Sirens is a fantasy novel written by Julia Golding.

See also

• Arion (mythology)
• Buraq
• Chollima
• Sleipnir
• Luno The White Stallion
• Thestral
• Tulpar

References