Topic 18: On Riding Pegasus with Spurs

Carol:

Pondering Pegasus

One of my favorite Walt Disney movies is the 1940’s animated feature Fantasia, which introduces children to classical music through a “concert” performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Each of the 8 sequences is accompanied by a story with characters ranging from Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice to dancing elephants. Beethoven’s Symphony known familiarly as “Pastoral,” uses every fantastical creature from Greek Mythology, from fauns to unicorns, including a new-born Pegasus who is just learning to fly. Children liked this awkward little fellow so much that he was later named Peter and figured in several short cartoons. If anything Peter and his multicolored winged playmates (pegasi—plural of Pegasus) look like the prototype for the “My Little Pony” plastic collectible toys that became popular in the 1980’s, with their bright sherbet colors and fat little bodies. Less prominent in the sequence were the pegasi parents, an elegant cream-white mother who evokes the grace of a swan, and a coal-black, dignified father. For many children, Fantasia may have been their first lesson in Greek mythology, and a pretty tame version it was.

A college student at Harvard in 1927 would have been much more familiar with classical mythology, and the winged horse Pegasus was most often depicted as a large, powerful beast, “the thundering horse of Zeus” (Greek Myth Index: Pegasus). In the original Greek, untamed legend, Pegasus was the result of a union between Medusa and Poiseidon (in the form of a horse), born when Perseus cut off Medusa’s head. No little Peter Pegasus raised under the protective wing of his elegant mother. This Pegasus would be depicted in paintings with rippling muscles and the power and fight of a wild bull, such as in Italian artist Giovanni Tiepolo’s 1746 “Bellepheron Riding Pegasus.”

Bellepheron is the other part of mythology attached to the story of Pegasus. He was given golden reins to ride Pegasus in various challenges, eg. against a fire-breathing monster called a Chimaera and later the Amazons (that’s the really simple summary of a very complicated myth). In some stories Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus up to the heavens, but falling or being bucked off, the horse having been stung by a gad-fly sent by a jealous Zeus.

So what might today’s topic, “On Riding Pegasus with Spurs,” mean to the young, mostly male collegians who would own the1927 textbook on writing? Is Bellerophon the message for them rather than Pegasus? Some people barely hold on when presented with daunting challenges. They are afraid of the ride, of being bucked off and just want to get through it without harm. Others may have more courage, may even enjoy the thrill and speed of riding the back of adventure. A final few not only grab the reins, but take control and fly to the heavens, whatever the risk. Is this a leadership model for the young American male? Future captains of industry and daredevil entrepreneurs?

As for me, I’m thinking more about the horse, the beautiful, powerful, wild and free creature who is the winged companion to the gods. I like to imagine the white-winged Pegasus soaring through the skies, unencumbered by a rider with golden reins and spurs. Unlike Bellapheron, this Pegasus reaches the heavens, and we only have to look up into the skies during early autumn to see him. Perhaps tonight?

Sources:
Disney Archives

Greek Myth Index



Megan:

Still sick. Got strep throat for my birthday. No good. So, here's a clip of the pegasi from Fantasia.