The Legend of Pegasus Pegasus: this constellation is visible from July through January as a much larger version of Ursa Major on the opposite side of the pole star. Like many other star groups, its history maps a changing importance as the precession of the equinoxes has shifted the sky. In 5000 BC, the Great Square of Pegasus was positioned above the arch of the Milky Way exactly on the meridian on the evening of the equinox. This placement earned it the position of Paradise, where souls congregated after following the arch of the galaxy into the sky. By the third century BC, the constellation was no longer associated with Paradise and was already described as a winged horse. It is depicted upside down in relation to the surrounding constellations.
Greece: Pegasus was born with the warrior Chrysaor from the neck of Medusa after Perseus decapitated her. Medusa was a beautiful priestess who caught the eye of Poseidon. He seduced her, disguised as a stallion, in a temple consecrated to Athena. The irritated goddess changed the woman into a horrific monster who could turn men to stone if they looked at her face. Pegasus was eventually tamed by Bellerophone. One explanation for the inverted position of the horse in relation to surrounding constellations was made following Bellerophone's attempt to reach Mount Olympus on the back of the horse. Trying to stop him, Zeus sent a horsefly to sting Pegasus. Startled, Pegasus bucked and threw Bellerophone from his back. The constellation depicts the horse in the act of bucking. If, however, the horse is drawn upright in relation to the other constellations, the front legs of the animal rest on the pale in Aquarius' hands from which flows the Fluvius Aquarii in which Piscis Austrinus is swimming. This representation makes sense since legend names Pegasus as having brought forth the fountain of Hippocrene on Mount Helicon with the kick of his hooves. Could some ancient astronomer have inadvertently inverted the animal? See Greek legend of Perseus.
India: in the Rig-Veda of 3000 BC several references are made to the Aswin, the twin sons of the sky Dyaus, and brothers of Usha the Dawn. The Aswin were gods with horse heads. The importance of the depiction of the celestial horse is realized when the position of the constellation on the night of the equinox is reconstructed. The feet of the horse appear to hit the moon on this evening, spilling soma, the drink of the gods into the vessel held by Aquarius. Horses were sacred animals whose sacrifice was considered the ultimate complement to the gods. See the Indian legends of Aquarius, Aquila, Crater and Hydra.Back to the Constellations
