Topic Archive
Explore myths connected by the recurring theme of Horses across cultures, characters, and sacred places.
4 myths currently featured for Horses.
Seeking to pacify the rebellious Monkey King, the Jade Emperor invites Sun Wukong to Heaven and grants him the title of Bimawen, or Protector of the Horses. Sun Wukong initially accepts the role with great pride, diligently tending to the celestial stallions and improving the efficiency of the stables. However, upon discovering that the position is actually the lowest possible rank in the...
Svanhild, the daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, was the most beautiful woman of her time, possessing eyes so bright that few could meet her gaze. She was married to the aging Gothic King Jörmunrekk, but was falsely accused of adultery with the King's son, Randver, due to the machinations of the treacherous advisor Bikki. In a fit of jealous rage, Jörmunrekk ordered her to be trampled to death by...
At his magnificent wedding to the sea-nymph Thetis on the slopes of Mount Pelion, King Peleus received a pair of immortal horses, Balius and Xanthus, as a divine gift from the god Poseidon. These swift steeds, born of the West Wind and a Harpy, were capable of human speech and legendary speed, later becoming the prized chariot-bearers of Peleus's son, Achilles, during the Trojan War.
As his eighth labor, Heracles was sent to Thrace to capture the four man-eating mares of King Diomedes. After a fierce battle with the King's army and the tragic loss of his companion Abderus, Heracles tamed the beasts by feeding them their own cruel master. The hero then founded the city of Abdera in honor of his fallen friend before delivering the horses to King Eurystheus.