The beauty, power, and spiritual mirror that horses represent have all been depicted on cave walls, in medieval art, sculptures, and of course, in the written word. In mythology, sometimes a hero couldn’t be a hero without a trusty steed to help him, or her, on their journey. From Perseus’ Pegasus to Cuchulain’s Liath Macha and Sigurd’s (aka Sigfried) Grani, horses are an integral link in mythological tales around the world. As in everything mythological, some horses are revered and some are reviled. And in some cases, one horse was blamed for bringing down an entire kingdom; that horse being the Trojan horse.

Unicorns and Faery Horses

     In mythology, there are some horses you would love to meet, like the elusive and magical unicorn. The unicorn has long been used as a symbol of innocence and purity. Many myths and early religious organizations began reinforcing that use by suggesting that unicorns could therefore only be tamed by virgins. Whether real nor not, there is no doubt that meeting one would be quite a spectacular experience. Though there are no grandiose myths attached to any one unicorn, it seems it has become more of an honorary adoptee by mythology itself. The Chinese have a version of it called the ‘qilin’, which is comprised of a deer’s body, a lion’s head, covered in green scales and a long curved horn. The Japanese call their version a ‘kirin’, and in the list of the most powerful creatures, they have given it the top spot. For them, it is a creature of good omen symbolizing fair rule and could punish those who reigned by wicked means by goring them with its horn. The Vietnamese call theirs the ‘Que Ly’, which they use to represent wealth and prosperity.

     The Fey often use faery horses to travel between their mystical world and the mortal world. Most mortal eyewitnesses say that when the Fey appear, they are usually upon horseback. Such is the case of Tam Lin. He found himself captivated by the faerie queen who appeared to him upon a beautiful white horse. For the most part, faery horses are benign, such as in Brittany, where the Ar Gazek Klanv, a white faery horse, regulates the tides. Ar Gazek C’hlaz, is a blue horse who is in charge of the fish, and Ar Marc’h Hep Vestr, is a rider-less horse who is responsible for creating the rambunctious white-tipped waves. But sometimes…

Kelpies and Cannibalistic Mares:

     On the other hand, some mythological horses you might not want to meet are the human-flesh eating Mares of Diomedes, the Celtic water horses known as Kelpies, and the four horses of the apocalypse.

     Diomedes, in Greek mythology, was a giant who lived on the edge of the Black Sea. His four horses, Podagros, Lampon, Xanthos, and Deinos were so fierce and uncontrollable, that they had to be secured to a bronze trough so that they could not get loose. One of Heracles’ twelve labors was to slay Diomedes, and when he did, he fed Diomedes to the horses in order to calm them down. It was said that Heracles had had a young stable boy watching over the horses while he was doing battle with Diomedes, but upon returning for a brief rest, discovered that young boy had been eaten by the horses. Heracles fury at the young boy’s death helped fuel his victory over Diomedes. To be fair, it really wasn’t the horses fault as Diomedes had raised them on a diet of human flesh.

     We have all heard about the rumored four horseman of the apocalypse in the book of revelations in the bible. The colors associated with those horses are white, red, black and pale. The white horse in this tale is associated with unleashing both evil and justice, but in other tales a white horse represents true grace, the sun, divinity, and peace. The second horse is said to be red which supposedly represents war. Many cultures consider red to be the color of vivacity and strength. In Indian mythology, Surya is said to ride in a chariot pulled by seven red horses. The third horse, a black one, is said to be responsible for famine. Again, in other mythologies, black is used more as an adjective to emphasize a description of a particular horse associated with divine origin or feat. The forth horse is said to be pale and represents death. Although pale could also mean beige, light beige, light gray, pale-green, and pale-yellow. There are many other mythological horses of the same color who are not associated with bringing death. Gray was the color of one of Cuchulain’s horses, Liath Macha, who was responsible for defeating many enemies in battle with his hooves. Sigurd’s horse, Grani, was gray and saved many lives.

     The Kelpies, known as water-horses, are said to purposefully lure wayward children and adults onto their backs by pretending to be ‘lost’. Once they mount the horse they can not get off no matter how hard they try. The horse then races back into the water, drowning its victim and consuming everything but the heart and the liver. These tales were often used as way to teach children good behavior and to always mind their parents. The imagery of a horse riding full steam into the breaking waves with a small child adhered to its back is horrifying. No child would want to be in that situation, hence they believed that their bad or selfish behavior would attract the Kelpie to them and take them away from their home. It is not only Scotland and Ireland who possess these supernatural creatures, the Isle of Man has what are called Glashtyns or Glashans– Glashans sometimes take on the form of cute young foals, Glashtyns take the form of handsome young men; Shetland has mini-horses called Shopiltees, Orkney has the tangye and the nuggle, and Iceland has the nykur. I would not want to meet any of these whilst strolling along the shore in any country..

Centaurs

     Going back to the familiarity of Greek mythology, it is said that the Centaurs (half man, half horse) were born of Ixion and Nephele. Centaurs are credited with being prone to violence, chaos, and ravaging passion. However, Centaurs were also associated with intelligence, honor, and strength. The most well known centaur is the titan Chiron. Chiron was sought after for his teachings, wit, and healing arts. It was on Mt. Pelion that Peleus gave Achilles to Chiron to be raised. Aeson also gave his son, Jason, to Chiron to raise. Jason eventually became known as Jason of the Argonauts. Chiron was also responsible for teaching Dionysus aspects of the Bacchic revelries, and, at one point, he gave up his immortality so that Prometheus could be freed from his rock.

Horses of Gods, Goddesses, and special Mortals

     In Norse mythology, the god Odin had his prized steed Sleipnir, who had eight legs and carried the dead to the otherworld. Celtic mythology gives us Enbarr, an immortal horse owned by Niamh, a queen of the Tir Na Nog. Helhest, in Danish folklore, is associated with the goddess Hel who presides over a portion of the underworld. Therefore, Helhest was employed to collect the souls of the dead and bring them to her. Grani, Sigurd the Volsung’s magical horse, was rumored to be an offspring of Sleipnir. When Odin trapped Brynhild in a ring of fire, it was only Grani who had the ability to leap through it. With Sigurd on his back, they were able to rescue her. Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek fame, was said to have been given the task of carrying Zeus’ thunderbolts. He was also instrumental in aiding Perseus when he needed to rescue Andromeda from impending death by Poseiden’s pet sea-monster. Bucephalus was Alexander the Great’s horse, who ended up dying bravely at the Battle of the Hydaspes.

     For both mortals and gods, horses were a necessary item in any myth’s backpack of useful items. Any hero or god, upon finding themselves in a difficult, and often impossible place without one, was surely doomed. This is how so many of the legends of horses arose; any writer, faced with the prospect of their divine character facing sure death, can create the most magnificent of escape routes by having a horse magically appear. Give a horse a little bit of back-story with a grandiose siring, supernatural mane or fur, death defying acts, and there you have your mythological horse.

Sources:

Ions, Veronica, The World’s Mythology in Colour, London, England, The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1974

Dubois, Pierre, Great Encyclopedia of Faeries, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1996