Hippocamp

The hippocamp (also: hippocampe, hippokamp, or hippocampus, pl: hippocampi or hippokampoi) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. The creature has a horse's body and a fish's tail. It was not commonly pictured in Classical Greek art but when it is, it is sometimes ridden by the sea god Nereus or sea nymphs. The hippocamp plays no part in any known mythological tale.[1] The ancients believed it was the adult form of the seahorse. It draws the chariot of Poseidon and other sea divinities in the works of ancient writers and artists.[2]

Poseidon in a chariot drawn by hippocampi, surrounded with dolphins, tritons, and Nereids on sea-monsters. Room 4 of the Baths of Neptune, Ostia Antica, Latium, Italy.

References
  1. Terracotta bell-krater (mixing bowl) with lid, Metropolitan Museum of Art, retrieved July 29, 2012
  2. Hippokampoi, Theoi Project, retrieved July 30, 2012


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