Sunday, December 15, 2024

PEGASUS: From Mythology to Modern Anime


   Pegasus (Greek: Pégasos) is a winged stallion which said to be the son of Poseidon and Medusa in Greek mythology.  One faithful day in the story, Poseidon forcefully raped virgin Medusa in Athena's temple due to his feud with Athena but instead, Athena turned her poor loyal worshiper into a monster.  Pegasus was born when Medusa got beheaded and this character is often found in works of art in both Greece, Rome and Mesopotamia.  Pegasus is a creature whose form described a relationship between gods and demons or monsters in the ancient and classical world.
   
   Pegasus helped the hero Bellerofon in his fight against the Chimaera and the Amazons as told by Gods.  However, Bellerofon became arrogant and tried to fly the Pegasus to Olympus but the gods punished him and dropped Bellerofon to his demise from Pegasus.  Since then, Pegasus has become a thunderbolt for Zeus.  The word "pegasus" is now used to refer to all kinds of winged horses in general.
   
   Pegasus (Flying Horse) is also known as constellation in the northern hemisphere, named after its mythological story.  This constellation is one of the 88 modern constellations, and also one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy back then.
   
   As quoted from Wikipedia, Pegasus Seiya (Pegasasu no Seiya), simply known as Seiya, is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the Saint Seiya manga series created by Masami Kurumada. He is the eponymous protagonist who makes his debut in the first chapter "The Saints of Athena" (Atena no Seinto), published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on January 1, 1986. Seiya is one of the eighty-eight mythical warriors known as Saints who have served the Goddess Athena throughout the ages, protecting justice and peace on Earth. As a Saint, Seiya dons a powerful armor of divine origins known as a Cloth, the one which represents the constellation of Pegasus. Seiya also possesses superhuman strength and speed, two of the many extraordinary abilities the Saints draw from their guardian constellations and an inner essence called Cosmo. Critical reception to Seiya has been mixed. While many enjoy his character design and call of justice, many reviewers feels he is overshadowed by other characters and the way he handles his fights. In short, he was far less popular compared to other characters.

   I watched saint Seiya or Pegasus Seiya when I was a child and tried to draw the characters directly as I watched it on local television since the information was quite limited and not as the current time with the internet and everything. It was once my favorite anime and I noticed that this series is inspired by Pegasus as the constellation and its relation to zodiac / astrology aspect rather than the mythology itself although it is also took some Greek gods characters such as Athena herself as one of the important character in it. Why? Because as mentioned before, Pegasus was actually the unwanted son of medusa who was once the loyal worshiper of Athena before the horrible wrongdoing by Poseidon to her. I guess that's all I can share about Pegasus and its connection from myth to Anime world.

 

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