View source for Pegasus

{{Short description|Mythological creature in Greek mythology}}
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{{Other uses}}
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{{Expand French|topic=cult|Pégase (mythologie)|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| image = Bellerophon riding Pegasus and killing the Chimera, Roman mosaic, the Rolin Museum in Autun, France, 2nd to 3rd century AD.jpg
| caption = [[Bellerophon]] riding Pegasus and slaying the [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]], central medallion of [[Bellerophon Mosaic|a Gallo-Roman mosaic]] from [[Autun]], [[Musée Rolin]], 2nd to 3rd century AD
| siblings = [[Chrysaor]] and [[Poseidon#List of offspring and their mothers|several paternal half-siblings]]
| name = Pegasus
| abode = [[Hippocrene]], [[Mount Helicon]]
| parents = [[Poseidon]] and [[Medusa]]
}}
[[File:Domitian Denarius Pegasus RIC1494 1.jpg|alt=Silver [[denarius]] of [[Domitian]] with Pegasus on the reverse, dated 79–80 AD|thumb|261x261px|Silver [[denarius]] of [[Domitian]] with Pegasus on the reverse, dated 79–80 AD]]
'''Pegasus''' ({{langx|grc|Πήγασος|Pḗgasos}}; {{langx|la|Pegasus, Pegasos}}) is a [[winged horse]] in [[Greek mythology]], usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by [[Poseidon]], in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the [[Gorgon]] [[Medusa]]. Pegasus was the brother of [[Chrysaor]], both born from Medusa's blood when their mother was decapitated by [[Perseus]]. Greco-Roman poets wrote about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to [[Zeus]], who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]].

Pegasus is the creator of [[Hippocrene]], the fountain on [[Mount Helicon]]. He was captured by the Greek hero [[Bellerophon]], near the fountain [[Pirene (fountain)|Peirene]], with the help of [[Athena]] and Poseidon. Pegasus allowed Bellerophon to ride him in order to defeat the monster [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]], which led to many more exploits. Bellerophon later fell from Pegasus's back while trying to reach [[Mount Olympus]]. Both Pegasus and Bellerophon were said to have died at the hands of Zeus for trying to reach Olympus. Other tales have Zeus bring Pegasus to Olympus to carry his thunderbolts.

Long honored [[Pegasus (constellation)|as a constellation]], Pegasus is a subject of very rich iconography, especially through [[Pottery of ancient Greece|ancient Greek pottery]] as well as paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance.

== Etymology ==
The poet [[Hesiod]] presents a [[folk etymology]] of the name ''Pegasus'' as derived from {{lang|grc|πηγή}} {{Transliteration|grc|pēgē}} 'spring, well', referring to "the ''pegai'' of [[Oceanus|Okeanos]], where he was born".<ref>Noted by [[Károly Kerényi|Karl Kerényi]], ''The Heroes of the Greeks'', 1959:80: "In the name Pegasos itself the connection with a spring, ''pege'', is expressed."</ref>

A proposed etymology of the name is [[Luwian language|Luwian]] {{Transliteration|xlu|pihassas}} 'lightning', and {{Transliteration|hit|Pihassassi}}, a local Luwian-[[Hittite language|Hittite]] name in southern [[Cilicia]] of a weather deity associated with thunder and lightning. The proponents of this etymology adduce the role of Pegasus, reported as early as [[Hesiod]], as the bringer of thunderbolts to Zeus. That interpretation was first suggested in 1952 and remains widely accepted,<ref>The connection of ''Pegasus'' with ''Pihassas'' was suggested by H.T. Bossert, "Die phönikisch-hethitischen Bilinguen vom Karatepe", ''Jahrbuch für kleinasiatische Forschung'', '''2''' 1952/53:333, P. Frei, "Die Bellerophontessaga und das Alte Testament", in B. Janowski, K. Koch and G. Wilhelm, eds., ''Religionsgeschichtliche Beziehungen zwischen Kleinasien, Nordsyrien und der Alte Testament'', 1993:48f, and Hutter, "Der luwische Wettergott ''pihašsašsi'' under der griechischen Pegasos", in Chr. Zinko, ed. ''Studia Onomastica et Indogermanica...'' 1995:79–98. Commentary was provided by [[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]] in his ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 1183.</ref> but [[Robin Lane Fox]] (2009) has criticized it as implausible.<ref>"a storm god is not the origin of a horse. However, he had a like-sounding name, and Greek visitors to [[Cilicia]] may have connected their existing Pegasus with [[Zeus]]'s lightning after hearing about this 'Pihassassi' and his functions and assuming, wrongly, he was their own Pegasus in a foreign land."  Robin Lane Fox, ''Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer'', Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009, {{ISBN|9780307271518}}, pp. 207ff.</ref>

== Springs ==
According to early myths, everywhere the winged horse struck his hoof to the earth, an inspiring water spring burst forth. One of these springs was upon the [[Muse]]s' [[Mount Helicon]], the ''[[Hippocrene]]'' ("horse spring").<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 9. 31. 3.</ref> [[Antoninus Liberalis]] suggested,<ref>Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'' 9</ref> that it was opened at the behest of [[Poseidon]] to prevent the [[mountain]] from swelling with rapture at the song of the Muses. Another spring associated with Pegasus was at [[Troezen]].<ref>Pausanias,  2. 31. 9.</ref> Hesiod relates how Pegasus was peacefully drinking from a spring when the hero [[Bellerophon]] captured him.

== Thunderbolts ==
[[Hesiod]] wrote that Pegasus carried [[thunderbolt]]s for [[Zeus]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0130:card=270&highlight=thunder%2Cpegasus | title=Hesiod, Theogony, line 270 }}</ref>

=== Roman iconography ===
McCartney examines early Roman ''aes signatum'' (cast bronze currency) that pairs Pegasus with an eagle carrying a thunderbolt. He interprets this imagery in light of literary traditions that describe Pegasus as bearing Zeus’s thunder or drawing the god’s storm chariot, suggesting that Roman iconography viewed Pegasus as linked to divine power and storm symbolism.<ref>McCartney, Eugene S. “The Symbolism of Pegasus on Aera Signata.” ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 28, no. 1 (1924): 66–68.</ref>

== Birth ==
There are several versions of the birth of the winged stallion and his brother [[Chrysaor]] in the far distant place at the edge of Earth, Hesiod's "springs of Oceanus", which encircles the inhabited earth, where [[Perseus]] found [[Medusa]]:

One is that they sprang from the blood issuing from Medusa's neck as [[Perseus]] was beheading her,<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' 281; Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]]'' 2. 42, ''et al.'' Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzner. ''Classical Mythology: Images and Insights.'' 2nd ed. (New York: Mayfield Publishing), 1998. 234.</ref> similar to the manner in which [[Athena]] was born from the head of Zeus after he swallowed her pregnant mother.

In another version, when Perseus beheaded Medusa, the brothers were born of the Earth, when the Gorgon's blood fell upon her. A variation of this story holds that they were formed from the mingling of Medusa's blood, pain, and sea foam, implying that Poseidon had involvement in their making.

The last version bears resemblance to [[Hesiod]]'s account of the birth of [[Aphrodite]] from the foam created when the severed genitals of [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] were cast into the sea by [[Cronus]].

{{Pedigree
|name = Pegasus
|f = [[Poseidon]]
|m = [[Medusa]]
|ff = [[Cronus]]
|fm = [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]
|fff = [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]
|ffm = [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaïa]]
|ffff = Gaïa or [[Nyx]]
|fffm = Gaïa or Nyx
|ffmf = [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]]
|ffmm = Chaos
|fmf = Uranus
|fmm = Gaïa
|fmff =  Gaïa or Nyx
|fmfm =  Gaïa or Nyx
|fmmf = Chaos
|fmmm = Chaos
|mf = [[Phorcys]]
|mm = [[Ceto]]
|mff = [[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]
|mfm = Gaïa
|mfff = [[Aether (mythology)|Ether]] or Uranus
|mffm = Gaïa
|mfmf = Chaos
|mfmm = Chaos
|mmf = Pontus
|mmm = Gaïa
|mmff = Ether or Uranus
|mmfm = Gaïa
|mmmf = Chaos
|mmmm = Chaos
}}

== Bellerophon ==
[[File:Bellerophon_Khimaira_Louvre_A478.jpg|thumb|Bellerophon fighting the Chimera on an Athenian black-figure Siana cup found in Camiros (Rhodes)]]
{{Multiple image
|total_width=300
|image1=Bellerophon killing Chimaera (mosaic from Rhodes).jpg
|image2=Bellerophon mosaic, Nîmes - panel 5 Bellerophon (Nîmes, Mus Arch).jpg
|footer=Left: a [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic Greek]] [[mosaic]] of Bellerophon slaying the Chimera, 300–270 BC, [[Archaeological Museum of Rhodes]] {{pb}}Right: a [[Roman mosaic]] of Bellerophon slaying the Chimera, 2nd to 3rd centuries AD, [[Musée de la Romanité]], [[Nîmes]]
}}
Pegasus aided the hero [[Bellerophon]] in his fight against the [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]]. There are varying tales about how Bellerophon found Pegasus; the most common<ref>For example in [[Pindar]], Olympian Ode 13.</ref> being that the hero was told by [[Polyeidos]] to sleep in the [[Parthenon|temple of Athena]], where the goddess visited him in the night and presented him with a golden bridle. The next morning, still clutching the bridle, Bellerophon found Pegasus drinking at the [[Pierian]] spring, caught him, and eventually tamed him.

=== Ancient interpretations ===
Hubbard discusses multiple ancient accounts of Pegasus’s capture, including versions in Hesiod, Pindar, and Corinthian cult tradition. He highlights Athena’s role in providing the bridle that allowed Pegasus to be tamed and connects this motif to the Corinthian cult of Athena Hippia/Chalinitis. Hubbard also notes Pegasus’s appearance on early Corinthian coinage, where the winged horse served as a civic symbol.<ref>Hubbard, Thomas K. “Pegasus’ Bridle and the Poetics of Pindar’s Thirteenth Olympian.” ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' 90 (1986): 27–48.</ref>

== Perseus ==
Michaud's ''Biographie universelle'' relates that when Pegasus was born, he flew to where thunder and lightning are released. Then, according to certain versions of the myth, Athena tamed him and gave him to Perseus, who flew to [[Aethiopia|Ethiopia]] to help [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]].<ref name="Michaud">{{Cite book
|last1=Michaud
|first1=Joseph F.
|last2=Michaud
|first2= Louis G.
|editor=Michaud Frères
|title= Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne, ou Histoire, par ordre alphabétique, de la vie publique et privée de tous les hommes qui se sont fait remarquer par leurs écrits, leurs actions, leurs talents, leurs vertus ou leurs crimes
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGRIAAAAMAAJ&q=P%C3%A9gase&pg=PA284
|access-date=23 June 2009
|language= fr
|year=1833
|volume=5
|name-list-style=amp
}}</ref>

== Olympus ==
[[File:Statère_représentant_Pégase.jpg|thumb|left|Silver coin of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]: ''obverse'', head of Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet adorned with a griffin; ''reverse'', Pegasus flying and beneath him a [[triskeles]]]]
After Bellerophon fell off Pegasus while trying to reach Olympus, Pegasus and Athena left him and continued to Olympus where he was stabled with other steeds belonging to [[Zeus]], and was given the task of carrying Zeus's thunderbolts, along with other members of his entourage, his [[Servant|attendant]]s/[[handmaiden]]s/[[shield bearer]]s/[[shieldmaiden]]s, [[Astrape and Bronte]].

Because of his years of faithful service to Zeus, Pegasus was later honoured with transformation into a [[Pegasus (constellation)|constellation]].<ref>[[Aratus]], ''Phaenomena'' 206; Scott Littleton, ''Mythology. The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling'' London: Duncan Baird, 2002:147. {{ISBN|1-903296-37-4}}</ref> On the day of his ''[[catasterism]]'', when Zeus transformed him into a constellation, a single feather fell to Earth near the city of [[Tarsus (city)|Tarsus]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Grimal |first= Pierre |title=The Dictionary of Classical Mythology |editor=Trans. by A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop | location= Oxford |publisher= Blackwell Publishing |page= 349 |isbn=978-0-631-20102-1 |date=4 September 1996 }}</ref>

=== Indo-European context ===
Lobell and Powell situate Pegasus within the wider Indo-European tradition of divine or supernatural horses. They note that Pegasus’s transformation into a constellation reflects ancient associations between equine imagery and seasonal renewal, with the Pegasus constellation linked to the arrival of spring in several early traditions.<ref>Lobell, Jarrett A., and Eric A. Powell. “The Story of the Horse.” ''Archaeology'' 68, no. 4 (2015): 28–33.</ref>

== Legacy ==
=== In heraldry ===
The pegasus became a common element in British heraldry, appearing chiefly as a [[supporter]] or a [[Crest (heraldry)|crest]]. Pegasi may also appear upon [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheons]], although this is rare. A pegasus rampant is featured on the arms of the [[Inner Temple]], while those of the Richardson family contain a rare depiction of a pegasus sejant.<ref>[[Arthur Charles Fox-Davies]]. ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', T.C. and E.C. Jack, London, 1909, 202, https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft.</ref>

=== World War II emblem ===
During [[World War II]], 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. 
[[File:British Airborne Units.svg|thumb|upright|The emblem of the World War II, British Airborne Forces, [[Bellerophon]] riding the flying horse Pegasus]]
The image clearly symbolized a 67 warrior arriving at a battle by air, the same tactics used by [[paratrooper]]s. The square upper-sleeve insignia comprised Bellerophon/Pegasus in light blue on a maroon background. One source suggests that the insignia was designed by famous English novelist [[Daphne du Maurier]], who was wife of the commander of the [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|1st Airborne Division]] (and later the expanded British Airborne Forces), General [[Frederick Browning|Frederick "Boy" Browning]]. According to the British Army Website, the insignia was designed by the celebrated East Anglian painter Major [[Edward Seago]] in May 1942. 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 (Parachute Regiment)|Red Devils]]. Today's [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]] carries on the maroon beret tradition. The selection process for the elite Parachute Regiment is called [[Pegasus Company]] (often abbreviated to "P Company").

In 2015 it was announced that the units of [[16 Air Assault Brigade]] would once again use the Pegasus insignia after a 15-year hiatus.<ref>{{cite news |last=Farmer |first=Ben |date=2015-10-22 |title=Paras win 15-year battle to reinstate Pegasus emblem |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11945878/Paras-win-15-year-battle-to-reinstate-Pegasus-emblem.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11945878/Paras-win-15-year-battle-to-reinstate-Pegasus-emblem.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=2018-03-21}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

During the [[Operation Deadstick|airborne phase]] of the [[Invasion of Normandy|Normandy invasion]] on the night of 5–6 June 1944, [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|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 [[Canal de Caen à la Mer|Caen Canal]], near [[Ouistreham]]. In memory of their tenacity, the bridge has been known ever since as [[Pegasus Bridge]].

===Tuscany===
[[File:Italian 16th Century (Attributed to Benvenuto Cellini), Pegasus on the Fountain Hippocrene (reverse), 1537-1547, NGA 45081.jpg|thumb|left|Benvenuto Cellini's 1537 coin.]]

The Pegasus has been a symbol of Tuscany ever since [[Benvenuto Cellini]] incorporated it in a coin made in 1537 to honor Cardinal [[Pietro Bembo]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pegasus: history of the symbol of Tuscany |url=https://www.toscanainside.com/hidden-treasures/post/pegasus-history-of-the-symbol-of-tuscany/ |website=toscanainside.com |access-date=2 October 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927043705/https://www.toscanainside.com/hidden-treasures/post/pegasus-history-of-the-symbol-of-tuscany/ |archive-date=27 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Tuscan Committee of National Liberation]] during the German occupation of Italy also had a Pegasus as its emblem. The winged horse is still featured on the [[Flag of Tuscany|Tuscan flag]] and coat of arms.
[[File:Pegasus_Airlines.JPG|thumb|Wing of the [[Pegasus Airlines]] plane]]

=== In popular culture ===
{{Main|Pegasus in popular culture}}

The winged horse has provided an instantly recognizable corporate logo or emblem of inspiration. [[Ecuador]] launched its weather satellite, named ''Pegaso'' ({{IPA|es|peˈɣaso|pron}}, Pegasus in Spanish), on 26 April 2013 but it was damaged by Russian space debris.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ecuador Pegasus satellite fears over space debris crash – BBC News|publisher=BBC News|date=24 May 2013|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-22635671}}</ref> [[Pegasus Airlines]] (Turkish: Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı A.Ş.) is a low-cost airline headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]. [[Mobil]] Oil has had a Pegasus as its company logo since its affiliation with [[Magnolia Petroleum Company]] in the 1930s. [[TriStar Pictures]] famously uses a winged horse in their logo.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Bellerophon, Pegasus, and Athena.jpg|Bellerophon, Pegasus, and Athena, fresco of the 3rd style from [[Pompeii]], first half of the 1st century
File:Winged horse Dodona Louvre Br149.jpg|Bronze figurine (Greece, sixth century BC)
File:Pelike Bellerophon Louvre G535.jpg|Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus fighting the Chimera, side A from an Attic red-figure pelike
File:NAMA Epinetron Bellérophon.jpg|Bellerophon and the Chimera, edge of an Attic red-figure epinetron (thigh-protector used by a woman when weaving)
File:Pegasus reel Louvre Bj1887.jpg|Reel (probably an ear-stud) with representations of Pegasus and Chimaira
File:Pegasos Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2504.jpg|Pegasus, Attic red-figure squat lekythos, 480–460 BC, from Sicily
File:Pegasus iran.jpg|[[Parthia]]n era bronze plate depicting Pegasus (''Pegaz'' in Persian), excavated in [[Masjed Soleyman]], [[Khūzestān]], [[Iran]]
File:The-Winged-Horse.jpg|A 1914 illustration depicting Bellerophon riding Pegasus
File:Columbia University, NYC (June 2014) - 13.JPG|''[[Bellerophon Taming Pegasus]]'', by [[Jacques Lipchitz]]. 1977. [[Columbia University]], New York
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{colbegin}}
* [[Uchchaihshravas]]
* [[Mythological hybrid|Hybrid creatures in mythology]]
* [[List of fictional horses]]
* [[List of hybrid creatures in mythology]]
* [[Flying horses (disambiguation)|Flying horses]]
* [[Ethiopian pegasus]]
* [[Haizum]]
* [[Hippogriff]]
* [[Luno the White Stallion]]
* [[Pegasides]]
* [[Pegasus and Dragon|Pegasus and Dragon (statue)]]
* [[Qianlima]]
* [[Tulpar]]
* [[Unicorn]]
* [[Wind horse]]
* [[Winged unicorn]]
{{colend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000313 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Pegasus)]
* {{Commons category-inline|Pegasus}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Pegasus}}
{{Greek religion}}
{{Heraldic creatures}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}

[[Category:Pegasus| ]]
[[Category:Medusa]]
[[Category:Children of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Mythological horses]]
[[Category:Astronomical myths]]