Horse
The horse denotes harnessed striving power, mount of gods, sun and sea alike, carrying the dead as psychopomp and the living into their conquests.
Our paraphrase of what the sources say it carries.
At a glance
- Type
- Image
- Group
- Animal World / Wild Animals
- Borne by
- 21 figures (17 are this, 4 carry it)
- Traditions
- Greek mythology (3)Welsh folklore (3)Chinese mythology (2)Manx folklore (2) and 7 more
- Borne with
- Unicorn (2 figures)
- Same group
- BearBullCoyoteElephantRabbit/Hare and 1 more
Figures that bear it
A model judged each figure against its own description, one term at a time. Is: the figure is a kind of this thing. Bears: it carries the thing or is marked by it. What a figure does is filed under motifs and powers. Open "why" for the sentence the judgement rests on.
- Aonbarr is Irish folklore
why
Aonbarr is the magical horse of the sea-god Manannán mac Lir in Irish tradition, able to run over the ocean as easily as over land while guaranteeing that whoever rides it comes to no harm.
- Arion is Greek mythology
why
In Greek myths, Arion is an immortal horse with the ability to speak.
- Bayard is French folklore
why
The horse of the Four Sons of Aymon, who grew to carry all four, understood speech, and broke the stone Charlemagne drowned him with.
- Bucephalus is Greek mythology
why
Bucephalus enters the tradition as a horse nobody could mount.
- Buggane is Manx folklore
why
The Buggane is a vicious Manx shape-shifting goblin, identified by some with the island's water horse, famous for haunting waterfalls, carrying off a girl, and tearing the roof from St Trinian's church.
- Cabyll-Ushtey is Manx folklore
why
The Cabyll-Ushtey is a shapeshifting Manx water-horse that lures people and livestock to the water's edge before tearing them apart.
- Ceffyl Dŵr is Welsh folklore
why
In Welsh folklore, Ceffyl Dŵr is a water horse with an ethereal, shifting form.
- Colt Pixy is British folklore
why
The Colt Pixy is a horse-shaped sprite of southern England that neighs to lead travelers and their horses into bogs, and in Somerset stands guard over apple orchards.
- Each-Uisge is Scottish folklore
why
From Scottish folklore, Each Uisge is a water horse.
- Kelpie is Scottish folklore
why
A Scottish water spirit that takes the form of a horse.
- Long Ma is Chinese mythology
why
From Chinese myths, Long Ma is a dragon-horse with scales and fiery manes.
- Mallt-y-Nos is Welsh folklore
why
Originating from Welsh folklore, Mallt-y-Nos is the Night Mare, a spectral horse.
and 9 more
- Pegacorn is
why
The Pegacorn is a mythical creature, combining the traits of a unicorn and a Pegasus, depicted as a horse with wings and a horn.
- Pegasus is Greek mythology
why
From Greek mythology, this divine winged horse springs forth from Medusa's blood.
- Sleipnir is Norse mythology
why
Sleipnir is a legendary eight-legged horse from Norse mythology, known for its incredible speed and strength, being the steed of Odin.
- Unicorn is
why
Across various myths, this horse-like creature with a single, spiraling horn is renowned for its purity and grace.
- Wihwin is Caribbean folklore
why
The wihwin is a fanged, amphibious sea horse of the Miskito Coast that leaves the water in the hot dry season to hunt people in the hills, returning with the rains.
- Ankou bears Breton folklore
why
Ankou's most distinctive feature is its eerie mode of transport: a creaking, spectral carriage drawn by ghostly horses.
- Kioh Twan bears Chinese mythology
why
Kioh Twan, an older transliteration of the beast now usually called Jiaoduan, is a green, deer-bodied unicorn of Chinese legend credited with a horse's tail, a single nasal horn, human speech, and the power to cross vast distances in a single day.
- Tylwyth Teg bears Welsh folklore
why
Accounts describe the Tylwyth Teg as capable of riding out in a fairy rade, their horses hung with jingling bells, and some tellings associate the sound of the bells with a general fondness for music rather than any single explained purpose.
- Valkyrie bears Norse mythology
why
Clad in gleaming armor and often depicted riding winged horses through the sky, Valkyries are beings of immense power and grace.