ARION (mythical golden horse)

The Arcadians claimed to be the first to call Poseidon Horse because of this offspring, who emerged from the earth near the grove of Oncean Apollo as a marvel for mortals.^7,8 Before serving Adrastus, the horse carried Heracles into battle when the hero conquered Elis, and later Heracles gave the animal to Adrastus after the war.² Adrastus owned the horse and took it with him when fleeing Thebes, escaping on its back after his chariot was destroyed during the flight.^1,8,3,9,10 Antimachus claimed that Adrastus was the third person to tame the horse, which had previously been tamed on the sea-shore without the use of a lash.^2,5

In the midst of battle, Arion struggled against the yoke and raged fiercely while waiting for his rider, sensing a different driver and fearing the son of Oedipus.^11,12 The horse threatened the charioteer with maddened fury, dashed in circles, and looked around the plain for its true lord.¹² Despite his initial resistance, Arion was driven forward by his charioteer, giving a fateful warning by turning in the yoke.¹³ When a terrifying snake-tressed phantom appeared, the horse's mane stood up and he halted with upreared shoulders, holding his yoke-fellow and neighboring steeds in place.⁴

Arion possessed an insatiable eagerness to run, outstripping storm-clouds and leaving the East and South winds behind.⁵ His feet could race against his father's swiftest winds, and he was distinguished by his ability to travel through the Libyan or Ionian deep in harness.^14,5 The sea-born steed overtook and passed OecUdes and Admetus, leading the race while remaining without a driver.^12,15 Prevented from losing the race by his father, the sea god, Arion retained the glory of victory in the chariot race.¹⁵

Later, Arion was part of a team of horses sharing the toil of the race, kept near the city gates as one of the swift steeds of the realm.^11,4 Pirates threw Arion into the sea, but he escaped safely to Taenarum while riding on a dolphin.^16,17 Arion appeared before Periander and the sailors in the same condition as when he left the ship, disproving the false report that he was safe in Italy.¹⁸ A small bronze memorial on Taenarus depicts Arion as a man riding on a dolphin, a story claimed by both Corinthians and Lesbians.¹⁹ Though once capricious like a winter sea and fierce toward Amphitryon's son, the horse had grown far gentler by the time he served Adrastus, deemed worthy by the gods' bounty.⁵