Pegasus Research Paper

My favorite constellation is Pegasus. In the second century, it was listed as a constellation along with forty-seven others by the astronomy Ptolemy. I choose Pegasus because of the mythological legends behind such a magnificent organization of stars. Also, Pegasus particularly interests me because of the near perfect arrangement of four stars in a square: Markab, Scheat, Algenib, and Alpheratz/Sirrah (to use their Arabic names) are the four corners of the square asterism.

In Greek mythology, the horse played numerous roles. Poseidon, god of the sea, first created horses out of the waves of the ocean. However, Pegasus was not merely just a horse. Poseidon was his father and the Gordon Medusa his dame. He was a mighty horse, the first horse to have wings and later the sire of a race of mythical creatures known as pegasi. During his stint in mythology, Pegasus created a spring by digging out a mountain …show more content…
Now, Pegasus was a proud horse. His father, the creator of all animals, had given him many magnificent traits. He was tall and strong. He could run faster and fly higher than anyone he came into competition with. There was no one else like him! Such magnificence turned Pegasus's head; he was prideful and vain and often made fun of the lower creatures. The tortoise was one particular animal that Pegasus loved to mock. "What are you good for?" Pegasus would ask the slow, lowly creature. "You can't even swim like the turtle? Such a slow, unfortunate thing you must be." The tortoise would never acknowledge or respond to the Pegasus's taunts. Eventually, Pegasus's pride and boasting alienated him from all the other animals. They refused to talk to him, but they turned to the slow, plodding, thoughtful tortoise for advice and counsel. That made Pegasus mad; one day, he bounced on the tortoise and reared, "Why do they think you to be better than