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*Artsie's* Pegasus - The Great Winged One [Logged in view]
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An Elftown Fantasy Wiki!
"Silver Pegasus" | 
"Golden Wings" |
"The Great Winged One"
Soaring through the heavens,
Dancing across the stars,
Your beauty is astounding,
Majestic more than Mars.
Bestill the breath of watchers.
Seize their gaze, behold.
Your grandeur so immense,
Of words cannot be told.
Your father is Poseidon,
The god of the sea.
Your mother was a beauty,
Before scorned by jealousy.
There are many that desire
To capture your essence,
But all, indeed, fall short
Of your magnificence.
Although, a constellation,
Your spirit, it shan't contain,
For you will soar forever
In a place of no domain.
Oh, great winged one,
With thy name of Pegasus,
Shine within the hearts
Of each and all of us!
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Written by [Artsie_ladie]
© 2006-12-15
I received the Best Contributor Award on Elftown for this, my Pegasus Project,
which you can see here and on it's many sub-pages, links below, as well.
Please see the additional links below related to the Pegasus Project and the Elftown Creature Marathon.
"Pegasus - His Birth"
A version of, written by: [Artsie_ladie] 2006-12-10
Perseus, Greek for avenger, borne of Danae, the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos, and fathered by Zeus, promised King Polydectes that he would bring the head of one of the three Gorgon sisters, named Medusa, as a gift for the marriage the King Polydectes was planning to his mother. Polydectes desired Perseus' mother as his wife, but wanted Perseus gone, out of the way.
Medusa, a tall, beautiful creature with long golden hair and golden wings, had secret meetings with Poseidon in a temple of Athene's. When Athene discovered this, enraged, she cast a spell upon Medusa, turning her into a monster with yellow fangs, brass claws and wings, and each of her golden strands of hair into a live, hissing snake. After Athene's transformation of Medusa, all those that were unfortunate to look upon Medusa's face were turned to stone.
As Perseus set out on his quest, he met one of his brothers, Hermes, who gave Perseus a pair of Talaria, silver-winged sandals made by their sister Athene. Hermes instructed his brother to go south and find the Gray Sisters, from which Perseus was to compel them to tell him where he could find the Nymphs of the West for they had in their possesion the three items he needed to obtain the head of Medusa.
Perseus took flight, delighting in the magic of his new sandals. He saw three figures, crouched together. Downward he swooped and landed in the middle of the huddled three. Older than old, long and lean, with gray hair that trailed behind them, of gray, naked skin, wrinkled and tough as a crocodile with leather-like claws, they were quarrelling about the one eye and the single tooth they had to share among one another to see and to bite with. Perseus snatched them from their withered claws. He used them as bargaining chips to extract the information he needed to find the Nymphs.
By their instruction, Perseus flew west until he saw the Titan, Atlas, holding up the sky. As he flew down close to the earth, he saw the three nymphs, daughters of Atlas, dancing in the grove, the same grove in which Hera's tree of golden apples stood. Aware of their suductive powers, he hovered above them. The nymphs wanted him to return to tell his tales of adventure, especially regarding Medusa, so they grabbed him by his ankles, not to seduce, but to touch and whisper the secret he sought, for it was by touch they were able to relay the information he needed. The three pulled him to a huge tree of twisted roots grown above the ground. It was there among the roots they searched for the three items he needed to make good on his promise. A bronze shield, polished to serve as a reflective mirror for he was never to look directly upon the face of Medusa; a sickle-shaped sword of dazzling shine; and a Cap of Darkness were the items he was given. The Cap of Darkness was to enable Perseus to slip into the presence of his enemy without being seen. In exchange for the three gifts, he had to give each of the nymphs a kiss.
He rose from the grove, invisible, with shield and sword in hand. Perseus headed for the Land Beyond, the Land of the Hyperboreans and the dwelling place of the three Gorgons, a dreary place of a dreadfully, rotten stench. When he landed there, he fought foul smelling, relentless weeds, until he came to a grove of statues belonging to all those that had looked upon the face of Medusa. Perseus made himself ready as he forged ahead, through the statues of stone, until he heard a snoring sound. When he spotted the brass wings and claws, he used the reflectability of his shield as his guide, for he knew not to look at the horrible creature he was about to embark upon.
As he crept forward, going backwards, the three sleeping Gorgons became visible in the face of his shield. Two were sleeping with their heads tucked under their wing, but the third's head was exposed. The slithering, hissing snakes became aware of the presence of Perseus, but could not see him. In their tumultuous state, the snakes bit one another, spewing forth their putrid smelling blood, painting Medusa's face as it trickled across it. He concentrated all of his assets into his one driven focus and gave a mighty strike with his sword. His timing impeccable, the blade cut through snakes, flesh, bone and gristle as the head of Medusa was severed from her Gorgon body.
As he grabbed the head by the snakes, limp and lifeless, Perseus stood motionless, amazed, for where Medusa's blood had dripped, two creatures sprang up from. One was a warrior holding a golden sword named Chrysaor and the other was a magnificent creature of strength and beauty, a white horse with a golden mane and golden hooves. The wonderful creature exhibited a glimmering, shimmering, golden pair of wings grown from a majestic, muscle-laden shoulder, extensions of an exquisite model of equine anatomy. Just the sight of such magnificence, would suck the breath from any being, steal the speech from any lips and freeze the gaze of any looker, for the sighting of such, exqusite beauty left none other than a profound and lasting impression. The name of this amazing wonder was Pegasus. Although the offspring of Poseidon had grown fully within Medusa, she had been unable to bear them in her monstrous state.
Perseus outflew the remaining sisters. He returned to the courtyard of King Polydectes with Medusa's head in his pouch. After instructing his mother to look away, he pulled the head out and showed it to the evil minded king. As the king and the courtyard people looked at the head, they were turned to stone, including the wicked father of Danae, who was among the wedding guests. It was her father that had locked her away in an escapeless tower where the great Zeus had visited and fathered Perseus.
The sources I used as references:
 Encyclopedia of Animals in Nature, Myth and Spirit
- by: Fran Pickering
Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth
- by: Evslin, Evslin, & Hoopes
The Encyclopedia Of Horses Ponies
- by: Tamsin Pickeral
http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/pegasus.htm |
Quote: "Pegasus is a flying horse from Greek and Roman mythology. He is generally pictured as white, sometimes with golden wings."
*Think*: [If Medusa was a Gorgon of beauty with golden hair and wings before Athene (Minerva) cast her spell, spawned of her jealousy, upon the Gorgon, isn't it quite possible, her son, Pegasus, would stand a chance to inherit her golden hair (as mane/tail) and golden wings]?
Here's a direct quote from the book, "Heroes & Monsters of Greek Myth" (author previously stated.):
"Swiftly he (Perseus) stooped, scooped up the head by its limp dead snakes, stuffed it in his pouch, and stood amazed for where her blood had fallen, two creatures sprang up, a warrior holding a golden sword and a beautiful white horse with golden mane and golden hooves and astounding golden wings. They were Chrysaor and Pegasus, children of Poseidon whom Medusa had been unable to bear while she lived as a monster, and who had grown full size in her womb."
Elftown's Pegasus' Links:
Elftown Creature Marathon
Pegasus' Links - Text 'n' Poetry:
Pegasus' Links On The Internet:
Stumble!
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