Pegasus

—Pegasian /peuh gay"see euhn/, adj.

/peg"euh seuhs/, n., gen. Pegasi /-suy'/ for 2.

1. Class. Myth. a winged horse, created from the blood of Medusa, that opened the spring of Hippocrene with a stroke of its hoof, and that carried Bellerophon in his attack on the Chimera.

2. Astron. the Winged Horse, a northern constellation between Cygnus and Aquarius.

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In Greek mythology, a winged horse.

It sprang from the blood of Medusa as she was beheaded by Perseus. Bellerophon captured Pegasus and rode him in several of his exploits, including his fight with the Chimera, but when he tried to ride the winged horse to heaven he was unseated and killed, and Pegasus was placed in the sky as a constellation. The flight of Pegasus is often regarded as a symbol of poetic inspiration.

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▪ Greek mythology

 in Greek mythology, a winged horse that sprang from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa as she was beheaded by the hero Perseus. With Athena's (or Poseidon's) help, another Greek hero, Bellerophon, captured Pegasus and rode him first in his fight with the Chimera and later while he was taking vengeance on Stheneboea (Anteia), who had falsely accused Bellerophon. Subsequently Bellerophon attempted to fly with Pegasus to heaven but was unseated and killed or, by some accounts, lamed. The winged horse became a constellation and the servant of Zeus. The spring Hippocrene on Mount Helicon was believed to have been created when the hoof of Pegasus struck a rock.

 Pegasus's story was a favourite theme in Greek art and literature; Euripides' lost tragedy Bellerophon was parodied at the beginning of Aristophanes' Peace (421 BC). In late antiquity Pegasus's soaring flight was interpreted as an allegory of the soul's immortality; in modern times it has been regarded as a symbol of poetic inspiration.

 

▪ satellites

      any of a series of three U.S. scientific satellites launched in 1965. These spacecraft were named for the winged horse in Greek mythology because of their prominent wing-like structure. This “wing,” which spanned 96 feet (29 metres), was specially designed to record the depth and frequency with which it was pierced by micrometeoroids (interplanetary dust particle). The information was used to design the outer shell of the manned Apollo spacecraft to prevent penetration of such high-speed particles of space dust. The data also enabled engineers to develop space suits that would shield astronauts from micrometeoroids when working outside their craft. The Pegasus ranks among the largest U.S. spacecraft ever built, with its center section extending 71 ft (21.6 m) in length.

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