Star Tours #3: Pegasus

In the second century CE, the astronomer Ptolemy catalogued a large cluster of stars in the night sky and named it Pegasus, after the winged horse of Greek myth. On a tour aboard the Interstellar, launching from the National Observatory of Athens on the Hill of the Nymphs, a guide named Margarita tells passengers the story of how that constellation came to be. The tale is not just about a mythical creature, but about a friendship between Pegasus and the hero Bellerophon, and the choice that ultimately placed the horse among the stars.

Pegasus was the child of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Medusa, a Gorgon. He had the ability to create water wherever he stomped his hoof, a power inherited from his father. One day, wandering the hills outside Athens, Pegasus met the hero Bellerophon. They became good friends, exploring the ancient world together. Bellerophon gifted Pegasus a golden bridle, and with the horse’s wings, they could cover great distances quickly, visiting temples of the gods, markets where they ate freshly caught fish, and the great comedic plays of Aristophanes. They watched sailors navigate the seas and saw Poseidon ride his chariot pulled by hippocamps, creatures half horse and half fish.