Pegasus & the Pegasus Constellation - Vienna, Austria
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Metro2
N 48° 12.166 E 016° 22.129
33U E 601705 N 5339743
These sculptures are set atop the Vienna Opera House.
Waymark Code: WMJEWC
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 11/09/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
Views: 23

This website (visit link) identifies the figures:

"The two representations of riders over the main façade of the loggia were erected in 1876. They were created by Ernst Julius Hähnel and represent two flying horses, illustrating Harmony and the muse of poetry (Erato)."
Although the horses are not identified here as representations of Pegasus, Wikipedia (visit link) verifies that Pegasus was the offspring of Poseiden and a friend to the muses.

And Wikipedia (visit link) also informs us about the constellation:

"Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations...

History

The Babylonian constellation IKU (field) had four stars of which three were later part of the Greek constellation Hippos (Pegasus). Pegasus, in Greek mythology, was a winged horse with magical powers. One myth regarding his powers says that his hooves dug out a spring, Hippocrene, which blessed those who drank its water with the ability to write poetry. Pegasus was the one who delivered Medusa's head to Polydectes, after which he travelled to Mount Olympus in order to be the bearer of thunder and lightning for Zeus. Eventually, he became the horse to Bellerophon, who was asked to kill the Chimera and succeeded with the help of Athena and Pegasus. Despite this success, after the death of his children, Bellerophon asked Pegasus to take him to Mount Olympus. Though Pegasus agreed, he plummeted back to Earth after Zeus either threw a thunderbolt at him or made Pegasus buck him off.

In ancient Persia, Pegasus was depicted by al-Sufi as a complete horse facing east, unlike most other uranographers, who had depicted Pegasus as half of a horse, rising out of the ocean. In al-Sufi's depiction, Pegasus's head is made up of the stars of Lacerta the lizard. Its right foreleg is represented by ß Peg and its left foreleg is represented by ? Peg, µ Peg, and ? Peg; its hind legs are marked by 9 Peg. The back is represented by p Peg and µ Cyg, and the belly is represented by ? Peg and ? Peg."





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Website of the Extraterrestrial Location: [Web Link]

Website of location on Earth: [Web Link]

Celestial Body: Constellation

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greysman visited Pegasus & the Pegasus Constellation  -  Vienna, Austria 11/27/2018 greysman visited it
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