Pegasus, or Pegasos as he was called by the Greeks, was a winged horse, born from the liaison of the sea-god Poseidon and the beautiful Medusa. The liaison made the goddess Athena angry, and she cursed Medusa to be ugly and deadly. When she was killed, Pegasus sprang from her neck. (See my page on the story of Medusa).

It's easy to speculate on the origin of the idea of a winged horse. A horse that seems as swift as the wind .. an exceptional horse .. might seem to fly, and might be talked about as flying. And the flight of Pegasus can be used as a metaphor for the soul's immortality.

In legend, Bellerophon, who became king of Corinth, tamed Pegasus with the aid of a golden bridle given to him by the goddess Athena. So Pegasus appears on many coins of Corinth and her colonies. He appears on other ancient coins too. Here are some of them.

	Bronze AE12 from Corinth, before 350 BCE. 12mm across, 2.0 grammes.	My earliest Pegasus coin is this little bronze from Corinth. It has a lively representation of Pegasus, with a trident on the reverse. You can just see the top of the letter koppa under the forelegs, looking like an "o" because you can't see the long tail. That was the Greek initial letter of the name of the city of Corinth. You can see the koppa better on the next coin. You can see another of these coins on my holed coins page.
	Silver stater from Corinth, 345-307 BCE. 20mm across, 8.3 grammes.	This must be my most beautiful coin. Athena is shown on the obverse, wearing a Corinthian helmet over a leather cap. On the reverse is Pegasus, his wings sweeping upwards. They look as though they belong to him, and are not just stuck onto a horse. The letter koppa is complete and clear on this coin.
	Silver drachm from Corinth, 350-306 BCE. 13mm across, 2.14 grammes.	This smaller coin is also very pleasant. The reverse is probably Aphrodite, wearing a sakkos, which is basically a bag bound with string, that looks a lot nicer than it sounds. Someone has has two tries at making a hole through this coin, probably to make it into a pendant of some sort, but has given up both times.
	Bronze AE19 from Syracuse in Sicily, 344-336 BCE. 19mm across, 5.1 grammes.	A small bronze coin from Syracuse, a colony founded on Sicily from Corinth. It dates from the time of Timoleon, a Corinthian statesman who rescued Syracuse from the reign of a tyrant. The obverse has a laureate head of Apollo, and on the reverse is Pegasus flying to the left.
	Bronze AE15 of Carthage in Sicily, 4th Century BCE. 20mm across, 2.3 grammes.	Coins such as this are referred to as "Siculo-Punic." They were produced by Carthaginians or their allies in Sicily, where the aggressive Carthaginians were trying to take over the whole island, fighting the Corinthian colonists in Syracuse (and other colonies too). The palm tree, called Phoenix, may be a pun on the Phoenician origins of Carthage.
	Bronze AE9 of Skepsis in Troas, 350-310 BCE. 9mm across, 0.4 grammes.	This tiny bronze coin shows the forepart of Pegasus with curled wings. On this example, it's not easy to make out what's what. Pegasus is supposed to be flying to the left, but all I can be sure of is the wings, scooping the air above his body. The reverse shows a fir tree inside a square – not a palm tree like the Siculo-Punic coin above.
	Bronze AE11 of Skepsis in Troas, 350-310 BCE. 11mm across, 1.06 grammes.	This second Skepsis coin has a startling addition to Pegasus – it looks like a fluted column, but it is actually a drinking horn. Such an ornate horn, decorated with a model of the forepart of Pegasus, was known as a pegasosrhyton. Several detailed examples in gold are known. Many of them could not be put down until they were empty, whiuch made them quite impractical as tableware, and they were clearly designed to encourage copious messy drinking. The reverse of this coin has SK for Skepsis in Greek letters.
	Bronze AE12 from Adramytteion in Mysia, 4th century BCE, 12mm across, 1.68 grammes.	This shows the fore-part of Pegasus, with his wing curled forward, this time flying to the right. If you look at photos or slow-motion clips of large birds in flight, you can see that the pressure of the air during the downward stroke of their wings splays out the feathers at the tip, quite like this "curled wing" representation. So it seems likely to me that this shows Pegasus using his powerful wings in flight. On the obverse of this coin is the head of Zeus.
	Bronze dichalkion from Pantikapaion in Thrace, 314-310 BCE, 14mm across, 2.88 grammes.	An interesting coin with a visual pun on the place name. The image of Pan would give the name of the town even to people who couldn't read. On this coin, like the last, only the front half of Pegasus is shown, sharply cut off rather than running off the edge of the coin. (There don't seem to be any coins showing only the back half. I wonder why?) Pegasus's wings are again curled forwards.
	Bronze AE16 from Leukas in Akarnania, 350-250 BCE, 16mm across, 2.92 grammes.	This is a nice little coin carrying a heavy weight of Greek legend. Pegasus is being ridden by Bellerophon, who has tamed him with the aid of a golden bridle given by Athena. Bellerophon then fought and killed the Chimaera, a monster with the head of a lion, the tail of a serpent, and a goat's head emerging from its back (according to Homer). This creature is shown on the reverse of the coin.
	Bronze AE22 from Lokroi Epizephyrioi in Bruttium, 300-280 BCE, 22 x 19mm across, 10.2 grammes.	This is another representation of Pegasus from a place which names itself as above the winds. Like a few of these coins, the artist seems not to have been quite sure how to handle the legs, which here are rather long and spindly.
	Bronze AE20 from Tauromenion in Sicily, 275-212 BCE, 20 x 18mm across, 4.5 grammes.	This coin, so similar both to the previous one and the Corinthian coins at the top of the page, shows again how popular was the combination of the helmeted Athena and Pegasus.
	Bronze AE16 from Seleukia, 246-226 BCE, 16mm across, 3.8 grammes.	This coin of Seleukos II Kallinikos is from one of the dynasties set up after the death of Alexander the Great. Pegasus is flying freely, and the legs are in an energetic stretched-out galloping pose. This artist had no problems at all!
	Silver drachm from Dyrrhachium, 300-200 BCE, 13.7mm across, 1.9 grammes.	This silver stater shows the demi-god Herakles on the obverse, and Pegasus flying to the right on the reverse. The idea for the obverse came from the Macedonian coins of Alexander the Great; the Pegasus reverse was influenced by Corinth.
	Bronze AE20 from Thessalonica in Macedonia, 187-131 BCE, 20 x 18mm across, 10.5 grammes.	Here, Pegasus is rearing on his hind legs, spreading his wings to maintain balance. This is another quite "naturalistic" portrayal. This coin shows the wreathed head of Dionysos on the obverse.
	Bronze AE15 from Stratonikea in Caria, 2nd-1st century BCE, 15mm across, 3.1 grammes.	Another nice Pegasus, though the coin is very pitted and has an odd yellowish patina. This is shown in more detail on my colourful patinas page.
	Bronze AE12 from Caria, 2nd-1st century BCE, 12mm across, 1.9 grammes.	This is another coin from Caria, though I haven't been able to find out exactly which town. It's smaller than the prevous coin, and the lack of any (visible) legend does not help. But there is enough detail to see an eagle with spread wings on the obverse, and Pegasus springing or flying to the right on the reverse.
	Bronze AE17 from Bargylia in Caria, 1st century BCE, 17mm across, 3.3 grammes.	This coin is also from Caria, near the island of Cos. Pegasus was clearly a popular coin image in this area, but this time there is a specific link with the place. It was said that Bargylia was founded by Bellerophon in honour of his companion Bargylos, who had been killed by a kick from Pegasos. The reverse shows a local cult image of Artemis Kindyas.
	Silver denarius of Q. Titius, 90 BCE. 19mm across, 3.4 grammes.	Pegasus comes to Rome on this silver coin of the Roman Republic. Here, he is springing to the right off what is normally described as a "tablet." The head on the obverse is a young Bacchus, wreathed with ivy. I'm afraid this is a poor example of the obverse. I bought it because it had a decent Pegasus. Many of these coins are struck off-centre, with parts of Pegasus missing.
	Silver quinarius of Q. Titius, 90 BCE. 14mm across, 1.66 grammes.	This little coin is a half denarius, issued by the same moneyer as the denarius shown above. On the obverse side is a bust of winged Victory, and on the reverse, once again Pegasus is springing into the air.
	Bronze AE23 from Amisos in Pontos, 85-65 BCE. 23mm across, 12.2 grammes.	A very nice bronze coin from Amisos. Amisos produced many coins with images relating to the legend of Medusa. On the obverse of this coin is Perseus, the hero who slew Medusa. On the reverse, Pegasus, standing drinking. The name of the town is below. It was while Pegasus was drinking at the well of Pirene that Bellerophon was able to throw Athena's golden bridle over his head and ride him – leading to the defeat of the Chimaera pictured on the coin of Leukas, above.
	Bronze AE15 from Belgic Gaul, 57-50 BCE, 15mm across, 2.9 grammes.	A small bronze coin of the Suessiones tribe of Belgic Gaul, north of the Seine. The blank flan for this coin has been cast, and you can clearly see the sprues where a row of blanks were separated from each other. Then the image has been struck on it in the usual way. The obverse is rather a weak strike.
	Bronze unit of Cunobelin from England, c. 20-43 CE. 13mm across, 1.44 grammes.	Pegasus in Celtic England. Cunobelin ruled the Trinovantes and the Catuvellauni, tribes which lived north of the Thames. Their main centres were Caer Colun, later Camulodunum to the Romans, now Colchester; and Verlamion, later Verulamium to the Romans, and now St Albans. This coin has Pegasus on its obverse, with CVNO for Cunobelin, and on the reverse is winged Victory sacrificing a bull, with TASCI for Cunobelin's father Tasciovanus. You can see there has been quite some Romanising influence here, and this predated Claudius's invasion.
	Bronze AE21 of Tiberius, from Corinth, 14-37 CE. 19mm by 21mm across, 6.3 grammes.	Corinth still showed Pegasus on her coins even after the city had been completely destroyed by the Romans, and 100 years later, in 44 BCE, rebuilt as a Roman city under Julius Caesar. This coin was minted under Tiberius, and shows his bust on the obverse. Pegasus is stepping to the right, wings held high.
	Silver denarius of Domitian, from Rome, 76 CE. 18mm across, 3.2 grammes.	Here is Pegasus in the heart of the Roman Empire. The usual descriptions say he is "stepping right," but you can see he isn't moving at all – just raising one foreleg – although this does vary from coin to coin. Perhaps he is greeting Domitian, who was quite willing to link himself to Minerva (Athena), the goddess who produced the golden bridle that tamed Pegasus.
	Brass dupondius of Hadrian, from Rome, 126 CE. 28 by 24 mm, 10.9 grammes.	Here is Pegasus leaping into the air, perhaps from a hillside. He has rather long spidery legs. This is the only Pegasus coin I have on which it is definitely clear that he is a stallion.
	Billon antoninianus of Gallienus, 253-268 CE. 18 x 19mm across, 2.84 grammes.	One of a large series of coins struck by the Roman emperor Gallienus with animal themes, real or mythical. They are known to collectors as Gallienus' Zoo, and they entreat a variety of gods to preserve the Augustus (Gallienus). This one is to the sun-god Sol. Pegasus is springing from a baseline, rather like the Hadrian and republican coins above.