Pegasus is the beautiful horse with wings from Greek mythology. He is a white stallion and the Greeks believe he carried the thunderbolts and other weapons of Zeus. He is held in high esteem in Greek mythology. According to Greek mythology, Pegasus has participated in many ancient battles. Take a glimpse into the legend of Pegasus.
Birth of Pegasus
Greeks believe, the god of sea, Poseidon fell in love with Medusa, the caretaker of the temple of Athena. One day, Poseidon seduced Medusa inside the temple of Athena. Athena was angered by this act of Poseidon. To punish Poseidon, she cursed Medusa to become a horrible monster with gruesome face and serpents for hair. As per the curse, any living being who looked at her face would turn to a stone. As further punishment, she was banished to live in an isolated isle of the Gorgons.
According to the Greek mythology, Pegasus sprang from the blood of the Medusa when she was slayed by Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae. From the isle of the Gorgons, Pegasus flew to Mount Helicon. Here the nine Muses looked after him. As per the legend of Pegasus, this winged equine is the one of the most beautiful creatures, the ancient Greeks had ever seen.
Legend of Pegasus
Many years later, Athena found Pegasus and presented him to the Greek hero Bellerophon. She, also gave Bellerophon, a golden bridle to tame Pegasus. Once, while Pegasus was grazing on the banks of a stream, Bellerophon threw the golden bridle over Pegasus’s head to tame him. Once he was tamed, Bellerophon and the winged equine became thick friends and galloped over the seven seas and the mountains.
Pegasus could gallop faster than the wind. Riding on Pegasus, Bellerophon conquered Chimera, the three-headed monster. However, success made Bellerophon, an arrogant person. He now wanted to fly up to Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods.
Zeus, the king of gods, punished the insolence of Bellerophon, by causing him to fall off the steed. However, the gods of Mount Olympus welcomed Pegasus. He became the favorite horse of Zeus and carried the weapons of Zeus.
Pegasus and Perseus, son of Zeus, became thick friends. Once, when they were galloping over the Mediterranean Sea, they spotted a beautiful maiden chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea serpent. She was Andromeda , the daughter of the Queen of Ethiopia. She told them, her mother had offered her as a sacrifice to the sea queen to protect Ethiopia. Perseus rescued her from the serpent. Later, Perseus and Andromeda were married.
Athena, the Greek goddess, presented Pegasus with a golden bridle, which would help him to fight the evil. She later took him to Jupiter, where he pulled the chariot of Jupiter. Aurora, the goddess of dawn, sometimes rode on Pegasus holding her torch to drive away the night and commence the day. The gods loved Pegasus.
As a reward for his service, Zeus created a constellation for the winged equine in the night sky of the earth.