Horses, especially white ones (although we know that this color is scientifically called gray), have always played a special role in the mythology of the cultures of Europe and Asia. They were associated with the solar chariot, were faithful companions of gods and heroes, saved people from adversity, symbolized fertility and purity. In this article we will try to compile perhaps the most unusual "equestrian" rating. So, we present to your attention the most famous mythical horses of the peoples of the world.
Pegasus
Who is the most famous legendary horse? Of course, Pegasus. According to legend, the winged horse was born to Medusa the Gorgon and Poseidon in the waves of the ocean - it is to him that he owes his name (Greek "Pegasus" - a stormy current). Pegasus lived in the mountains, flew faster than the wind and knocked out sources from which the poets drew inspiration with a blow of his hoof on the ground. He helped Bellerophon, the son of Poseidon, to defeat the Chimera, as well as perform many other glorious feats. However, when Bellerophon set out to fly to Olympus itself, Zeus sent a gadfly that stung Pegasus and the horse threw the rider down. Subsequently, Pegasus delivered thunder and lightning made by Hephaestus to Zeus from the earth. The Legends of Pegasus are also associated with the myths of the muses. Once, when the muses were singing, Mount Helikon began to grow with delight and would have reached heaven, but Pegasus returned it to the ground with a blow of his hoof,why the spring of Hippocrenus was formed, the waters of which had a wonderful property to inspire poets. In honor of Pegasus, the autumn constellation, located southeast of Cygnus, was named.
Unicorn
The unicorn is a mythical white horse, a symbol of purity and virginity, often mentioned in medieval legends and tales. It got its name from the long, straight horn on its forehead.
Promotional video:
In the Russian "alphabet books" of the XVI-XVII centuries. the unicorn is described as a fearsome and invincible beast, like a horse, all of whose power is contained in a horn. Healing properties were attributed to the horn of a unicorn (according to folklore, a unicorn purifies water poisoned by a snake with its horn). A unicorn is a creature of another world and most often portends happiness.
Catching a unicorn was almost impossible: legend claims that he is tireless when chased, but obediently lies down on the ground if a virgin approaches him.
Sleipnir
Fans of Scandinavian mythology are familiar with the eight-legged horse of the Viking god Odin - Sleipnir. Once, one of the giants, with the help of his horse Svadilfari, promised to build walls around the heavenly city of Asgard, demanding the sun, moon and goddess Freya as payment. In order not to pay the bills, the cunning god Loki turned into a beautiful mare and in every possible way distracted Svadilfari from work, so the giant could not complete the construction on time. From Svadilfari, Loki gave birth to the magical foal Sleipnir, who became the bravest and fastest horse in the world, galloping on land, sea and air. Odin always rides on Sleipnir, the wolves Freki and Gehry are running on either side of him, and the ravens Hugin ("thought") and Munin ("memory") fly after them, telling God about everything that happens on earth. Interestingly, Sleipnir,despite his divine origin, he was not immortal, and could die from his wounds. According to Viking legends, a whole stable of amazing horses existed in heaven. For example, Odin's daughter and son, the gods Not and Dagr, also rode horses: the goddess's horse, Hrimfaxi, brought night, and the god's horse, Skinfaxi, illuminated the world with light.
Prairie white horse
The fourth place in our ranking is rightfully taken by the great prairie spirit - the White Stallion of the Great Plains. The legendary horse of the Indians of North America failed to save the lovers from the revenge of the enemy tribe - they were killed, and the girl's soul, according to legend, got into the horse, which has since wandered lonely across the plains (see the article "The Riddle of the Great Plains" in the same issue).
Uchchaykhshravas
White horses also figure repeatedly in Hindu mythology, chief among which is the snow-white flying horse with seven heads Uchchaikhshravas. Once the gods and demons-asuras decided to prepare a drink of immortality and began to whip the milk ocean. For hundreds of years they prepared the elixir, but thanks to the cunning of the god Vishnu, the elixir went to the gods, and the king of all horses, Uchchaikhshravas, was born from the waters of the ocean, on which the lord of the gods Indra began to ride. The Indian epic "Mahabharata" mentions a dispute between the sister and wife of the god Kashyapa - Vinata and Kadru - about the color of the horse's tail. Vinata stated that he was white, while Kadru said that he was black. The loser of the bet would become the servant of the winner. The insidious Kadru ordered her sons-snakes to paint the horse's tail and thus won the argument. In addition, the Hindus worshiped the incarnation of Vishna, the god of knowledge and wisdom Hayagriva,who had the body of a man and the head of a horse, wore white robes and sat on a white lotus.
Kantaka
The white stallion Kantaka (Akhal-Teke, according to a number of researchers) was the favorite horse of the prince and founder of Buddhism Siddhartha from the royal family of Gautama. King Shuddhodana in every possible way protected his son from misfortune and suffering, hoping that his whole life would pass in contentment and luxury. At the king's court, Kantaka was the bravest and smartest of all horses and always accompanied the prince when he left the palace.
First, Kantaka helped Siddhartha win the bride: according to the customs of the clan, the young man had to defeat his rivals in competitions that included horse riding, archery and fencing. Riding his steed, the prince became the strongest in all three disciplines and won the hand and heart of Princess Yashodhara. Later, Kantaka, harnessed to a chariot, was driving the prince when he saw four spectacles - an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a hermit, which prompted him to renounce the world. “The prince was so shocked that he decided to become a monk and, riding on his horse, fled from the palace at night when the guards were sleeping. Legend has it that "the sound of his horse's hooves was muted by the gods to keep his departure a secret."
This event is called the "Great Departure". It was on Kantaka that the future Buddha went to wander around India, preaching a new religion. According to Buddhist texts, after his death, Kantaka was reborn as a brahmana, continued to follow the teachings of the Buddha and attained enlightenment.
Gong transformation
The inhabitants of ancient China often suffered from floods caused by the flooding of the Yangtze and Yellow He rivers. The hero of myths Gun for many years tried to fight the flood by building dams, but each time the elements were stronger than him. Once again, when streams of water poured into the city, he stole the "self-growing" or "swelling" earth from the God of Fire and with its help began to build new dams. God was angry and ordered to execute the hero on Mount Yushan, but Gun did not die, but turned into a white horse, from the womb of which his son Yu was born. Yu turned into a dragon and dealt with the flood by digging many channels. Until now, on the day of remembrance at the graves of their ancestors, it is customary for the Chinese to burn paper figures of horses.
Lightning horse
In Korea, the white horse has become a symbol of peace and salvation. According to ancient legend, the inhabitants of the six warring clans came together to create a single kingdom and choose a king. In the forest, at the meeting place, people began to pray. At that moment, lightning struck from the sky, and a white horse appeared before them. After a moment, he disappeared, soaring back to heaven, and in its place was a shining egg. A boy, Pak Hekkose, emerged from the egg, his body glowing and birds and beasts dancing at the sight. The head of one of the clans raised a child who at the age of 13 became king and united the warring states.
White horse Ahura Mazda
In Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest world religions, spread many centuries ago in Iran, there was also a white stallion. The single god and creator Ahura Mazda created a white horse, the lord of the rain and the hypostasis of the star Sirius. According to legend, he confronts the drought demon Apaosha, who looks like a black stallion. In addition, four white horses named "wind", "rain", "cloud" and "wet snow" are harnessed to the divine chariot of Ardvisura Anahita - the goddess of water and fertility.
Goddess of horse breeding
In Welsh mythology, Rhiannon, the goddess of horses, rode "on a beautiful white horse, in a shining golden robe." Her image echoes the Celtic goddess of horse breeding, the patroness of horses, mules, donkeys, drovers and carters Epona. Epona was depicted as a young woman on horseback, surrounded by horses, standing on a horse or in a chariot with symbols of fertility and abundance. In the English county of Oxfordshire, there is the Uffington White Horse - a chalk figure 110 m long.
This is the so-called geoglyph - a geometric or figured pattern made by filling trenches on the hillside with broken chalk. According to experts, the figure dates back to the Bronze Age: it was created by the inhabitants of the local settlement, who regularly, once every seven years on the occasion of the fair, weeded trenches so that the Horse would not overgrow with grass.
Temple of the White Horse
In Vietnam, in Hanoi, the white horse is revered as the patron saint of the city. In honor of him, the White Horse Temple was erected, built during the founding of the capital Thanglong. In 1010, the emperor Li Thai To decided to establish a new capital, but the walls were constantly crumbling.
The king was in despair, but suddenly he saw a white horse, the spirit of the river, who indicated where to build the citadel. In gratitude, the ruler ordered the construction of the Temple of the White Horse - "Bat Ma" - and the horse himself became the guardian of the city.
Souls of people
Sirat al-Mustakim means the direct or true path of Allah in Islam. According to belief, it is a narrow path (thinner than a hair) 3,000 miles long, which the souls of the dead must overcome to get to heaven. According to one version of the legend, it is easier for the souls of virtuous people to reach heaven, since their good deeds turn into a white horse, on which pilgrims can easily reach their goal.
Panganthukan Symbol
The symbol of the Philippine city of Pangantukan, which means "wisdom" and "strength", is also a white stallion. According to the myth, he uprooted the bamboo shoots and, thus, warned his master, the leader of the tribe, about the approach of the enemy, which saved the inhabitants from extermination.
Fortune telling … on horseback
Among the many Slavic deities, the main was the god of war and fertility Sventovit, who owned the white sacred horse. Every night, despite the fact that the horse was in the temple, it was covered with mud - according to legend, at night the stallion went out to fight the enemies. The oracles also used it for fortune-telling: the horse was led to three rows of spears, and if he first stepped on his left foot, this was considered a bad omen, if on the right, it was a good omen.
Bato Kannon cult
In faraway Japan, the cult of Bato Kannon, the goddess of mercy and the Great Mother, was widespread. According to some sources, the goddess was the patroness of peasants with horses, rural traders, and later even taxi and bus drivers. She appeared before people in the form of a white horse, with the head of a horse, or with the figure of a horse. According to other sources, this was a male deity who wore a horse's head on his head as a crown and patronized all those whose souls, due to sins committed in a past life, were reincarnated into an animal.
As we can see, in the religious beliefs of our ancestors, the horse occupied a special place, and the myth of the white horse was universal, since it existed in one form or another among all peoples of the world. In their works, the image of a white horse was used by the Roman poet Virgil and the British writer GK Chesterton, the popular English science fiction writer Terry Pratchett and the creator of the legendary "The Lord of the Rings" JR Tolkien. Even in the cartoon "Shrek", the ridiculous funny Donkey suddenly turns into a beautiful white stallion. Jokes are jokes, but history bears witness to the fact that in every joke there is always some truth.
Author: Julia SERKOVA