About the Horse
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology
The hidden meanings of this splendid animal told by Club Cavallo Italia.
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In the human imagination, the horse evokes freedom and beauty but it was not always like this.
Over the centuries, the symbolism related to the horse has been affected by the different historical moments and the dominant cultural thought, so much so that it has repeatedly been attributed a dual aspect which simultaneously highlighted the positive and negative characteristics of the animal.
If in the archaic era the horse was associated with the kingdom of the dead and as such sacrificed to the deceased, subsequently the horse was associated with the Sun divinity: the horse, in fact, was the draft animal that pulled the “chariot of the sky” driven by Apollo, Mithras and Elijah.
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Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
Casual Collection for Who Love Horses
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The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology. Poseidon…
Poseidon, god of the sea and waters, was also the protector of horses and as such venerated by the Greeks.
In many works of art, including modern ones, Poseidon is depicted driving chariots pulled by hippocampi, i.e. animals that are part horse and part fish.
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology. Many…
… many ancient fairy tales tell of the exploits of winged horses.
The best known is certainly Pegasus, born from the neck of Medusa, whose head Perseus had cut off.
Bellerophon tamed this animal using the bridles given to him by Athena.
Thanks to Pegasus, Bellorophon managed to defeat Chimera.
The myth tells that with a blow of his hoof Pegasus caused the Hippocrene spring to flow from Helicon, the mountain of the Muses. Zeus, angry at Bellerophon, sent an insect, which stung Pegasus, causing his rider to fall into the void.
Pegasus then returned to the sky, becoming a constellation. In symbolism, the winged horse combines the vitality and energy of the animal with the ability to free itself from the earth and material reality.
Pegasus
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology. A…
… a symbol that is not always positive is the centaur, the mythical being with the body of a horse and a human bust, perhaps deriving from the primitive terror that the invasions of foreigners who used horses as a means of travel and raids aroused among the populations.
Considered a symbol of animality, the centaur was considered a heretic and in the Middle Ages contrasted with the noble knight.
Therefore, a dual symbolism is also found for the centaur: an expression of animal instincts and a wise character, like Chiron, who instructed Achilles, Jason, Aesculapius, Theseus and Diomedes in the use of medicinal plants.
Wounded by Hercules by mistake with a poisoned arrow, the centaur renounced his immortality in favor of Prometheus and was welcomed into heaven as the zodiac constellation, Sagittarius, represented precisely by a centaur archer.
Centaur
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology. Very…
… very well known in the Middle Ages, the unicorn (or liocorno) is depicted as a white horse with a spiral horn on its forehead endowed with magical and therapeutic properties.
However, in classical iconography there is no shortage of images of unicorns with the body of a deer, rather than an equine.
In symbolism, the unicorn represents purity, strength and chastity: medieval legends report that the unicorn could only be captured by a virgin woman, hence the comparison with Jesus Christ.
The unicorn
The Horse in Symbolism and Mythology. In many…
… in many fairy tales, horses speak with human voices, advise people, have divinatory and magical abilities, and therefore play a “wise” role.
Already depicted in the cave drawings of prehistoric man together with other animals, even during the affirmation of Christianity the horse had a dual symbolism: if on the one hand it was considered the emblem of pride and lust, on the other the four horsemen of the Apocalypse were depicted on horseback and among them stood out the Christus triumphator riding a white horse.
It is no coincidence that the knights of Christian history, such as Saint George killing the dragon, Saint Martin dividing his cloak into two parts to give one to a poor cold man, are depicted on horseback, clear proof of the positive symbolism of the animal and of his close association with the knight, with whom he forms a single pairing.
It should not be forgotten that in a miniature from the 10th century, the evangelist Mark was portrayed with the head of a horse.
Another mythical animal is the hippogriff, a name derived from the Greek words hippos (horse) and grypòs (griffin).
The hippogriff was born from the cross between a horse and a griffin, with the head and wings of an eagle, front legs and chest of a lion and the rest of the body of a horse.
According to other versions, the front legs would be replaced by eagle claws.
The hippogriff
Ludovico Ariosto included the hippogriff for the first time in Orlando Furioso, in which among other adventures, Astolfo rides him to the Moon to recover Orlando’s lost mind.
In medieval tales the hippogriff is an animal that accompanies a wizard or a knight.
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