Pegasus is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in Greek mythology. He was sired by Poseidon in his role as horse-god and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Pegasus was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon who rode him to defeat the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him up in the sky.
The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of the poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the 19th century.
Usage
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