Pegasides ( el, Πηγασίδες, singular: pegasis) were
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
of
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
connected with
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
s and
springs,
[Gardner, James (1858-60); p. 639.] specifically those that the mythical horse
Pegasus created by striking the ground with his hooves.
[Lemprière, John; Anthon, C. (1825); p. 530.]
Background
According to
Greek mythological tradition the winged horse
Pegasus was the son of
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
,
sea and river god of the Greeks,
[Walford, Edward (1897); p. 77, vol 33.] equivalent to the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Neptune.
[Anthon, Charles (1857); p. 989.] The hero
Bellerophon needed the untamed Pegasus to help him defeat the monster
Chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilici ...
. Hence, while Pegasus was drinking at the
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
Pirene in
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...
, Bellerophon caught him. Pegasus, startled, struck a rock with his hoof, creating the spring
Hippocrene
In Greek mythology, Hippocrene ( grc-gre, Ἵππου κρήνη or Ἱπποκρήνη or Ἱππουκρήνη) was a spring on Mt. Helicon. It was sacred to the Muses and formed when Pegasus struck his hoof into the ground, whence its na ...
on
Mount Helicon
Mount Helicon ( grc, Ἑλικών; ell, Ελικώνας) is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an altitude of , it is located approximately from the north coast of the Gulf of Corint ...
.
[Adam, Alexander (1816); p. 394.]
The Pegasides
The name pegasides (plural form of the Greek feminine adjective ''pegasis'') literally means "originating from or linked with Pegasus".
[Smith, William (1849); p. 165.] Hence, in poetry, the waters and streams of Hippocrene and other springs that arose from the hoofprints of Pegasus are called pegasides.
The
Muses are likewise called pegasides because the spring Hippocrene was sacred to them.
Nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
s in general, if associated with springs and
brooks
Brooks may refer to:
Places
;Antarctica
*Cape Brooks
;Canada
*Brooks, Alberta
;United States
* Brooks, Alabama
* Brooks, Arkansas
*Brooks, California
*Brooks, Georgia
* Brooks, Iowa
* Brooks, Kentucky
* Brooks, Maine
* Brooks Township, Michigan ...
, may be called pegasides:
[Smith, William (1858); p 534.] thus pegasis, the singular form, is applied by the Roman poet
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
as a by-name or adjective to the nymph
Oenone
In Greek mythology, Oenone (; Ancient Greek: Οἰνώνη ''Oinōnē''; "wine woman") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for Helen. Oenone was also the ancient name of an island, which was later named after Aegina, daught ...
, daughter of the river-god
Cebrenus.
Pegasis is used by the Greek author
Quintus Smyrnaeus as the name of a nymph who had sex with the
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
prince
Emathion In Greek mythology, the name Emathion ( Ancient Greek: Ἠμαθίων) refers to four individuals.
* Emathion, king of Aethiopia or Arabia, the son of Tithonus and Eos, and brother of Memnon. Heracles killed him. Herakles had to fight Emathion, w ...
and gave birth beside the river
Granicus to
Atymnius In Greek mythology, Atymnius (Ancient Greek: Ἀτύμνιος derived from ''atos'' and ''hymnos'' which means "insatiate of heroic praise") may refer to:
*Atymnius, a beautiful boy, who was beloved by Sarpedon. He was the son of Cassiopeia eithe ...
. The latter was eventually killed by
Odysseus in the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
.
[ Quintus Smyrnaeus]
3.300–302
/ref>[Parada, Carlos (1997) s.v.]
.
Gallery
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''The Epistles of Ovid.'' London. J. Nunn, Great-Queen-Street; R. Priestly, 143, High-Holborn; R. Lea, Greek-Street, Soho; and J. Rodwell, New-Bond-Street. 1813
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso. ''Amores, Epistulae, Medicamina faciei femineae, Ars amatoria, Remedia amoris''. Edition by R. Ehwald; Rudolphi Merkelii; Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1907
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Tristia
The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of August ...
(The Early Letters from Tomis AD 8-12)'' translated by A. S. Kline. © Copyright 2003
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Tristia''. Arthur Leslie Wheeler. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1939
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy is an American rock band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band is a trio consisting of Thomas Erak (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion) and Tim Ward (bass, screamed vocals) who was later replaced by Fr ...
'' translated by Way. A. S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 19. London: William Heinemann, 1913
Online version at theio.com
* Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''The Fall of Troy''. Arthur S. Way. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*
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{{Greek mythology (deities)
Naiads
Nymphs