Pegasus Roman intaglio ring

Description

Ancient Roman carnelian intaglio of Pegasus in modern high carat setting as a ring.

Measurement of bezel: 16 x 14 mm Ring size :”T” = 9+1/2 Weight: 16.7 grams The ring is cast and has some microscopic porosity, not really affecting the look or value of the ring

Pegasus is one of the best known mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse usually depicted as white in colour. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.Born when his mother was decapitated by Perseus.Zeus, king of the gods, instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him up in the sky.

The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the 19th century. Personification of the water, solar myth, or shaman mount, Carl Jung and his followers have seen in Pegasus a profound symbolic esoteric in relation to the spiritual energy that allows to access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus.