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As our minds
continued to take in all that we had learned during our trip thus far,
our host re-appeared, again in a puff of smoke. "Has our break
been long enough? Does anyone have questions before we
continue?",
she asked. At this point the skeptic closed his mouth, took a
deep breath and said, "What exactly are you trying to show us
here?" Our guide walked to his side, put a hand on his shoulder
and said simply, "The truth. Only the truth." The skeptic
rose and nodded. Understanding shone on his face. Our guide
walked forward through the next set of doors. These doors were
deep sea blue with carvings much like waves on them and I could have
sworn that I smelled saltwater. As we entered, I could see why.
Our guide began, "The next creature on our tour is very rare. The sea God Poseidon used them used them to pull his chariots. It is a half-fish and half-horse called a Hippocampus. They are gentle and fast. In your time and culture the word has come to mean many things. Part of your human brain is called the hippocampus and also a species of fish are called hippocampus. The true meaning of the word is horse-like sea monster, but these creatures are anything but monsters." She turned on her heels to face the tank that I had just noticed, although I don't know how I had missed it. It was huge.
Behind our guide and in front of our tour group was a tank that had to hold millions of gallons. It was the deepest blue and the water was murky. There were weeds and plants growing at the bottom of the tank and our quarry was no where to be seen. The water was obviously cold because there was a fair amount of condensation on the tank. She motioned to the tank and said, "These creatures are very secretive so I cannot guarantee that you will see one." Just then a gigantic scaled animal swam out of the depths and over to the side.
He, or she, I could not tell, nuzzled our guide hand with its muzzle. The front half of it's body was a perfectly formed horse, colored all in a deep green. It was gracile and sleek with a long flowing mane and forelock. The back half looked like the sea horses that I had seen at the local aquarium. It's tail locked around a weed that was waving nearby to help it hold on. The guide looked away from the tank but kept her hand in place on the glass. "All of the creatures here in our museum have jobs. This is done to keep them fit in mind and body. Our hippocampus pulls a chariot, much as he would have done for Poseidon." At this remark, a screen dropped from the ceiling. A movie started to play on the screen while we all crowded around it.
Our guide began, "The next creature on our tour is very rare. The sea God Poseidon used them used them to pull his chariots. It is a half-fish and half-horse called a Hippocampus. They are gentle and fast. In your time and culture the word has come to mean many things. Part of your human brain is called the hippocampus and also a species of fish are called hippocampus. The true meaning of the word is horse-like sea monster, but these creatures are anything but monsters." She turned on her heels to face the tank that I had just noticed, although I don't know how I had missed it. It was huge.
Behind our guide and in front of our tour group was a tank that had to hold millions of gallons. It was the deepest blue and the water was murky. There were weeds and plants growing at the bottom of the tank and our quarry was no where to be seen. The water was obviously cold because there was a fair amount of condensation on the tank. She motioned to the tank and said, "These creatures are very secretive so I cannot guarantee that you will see one." Just then a gigantic scaled animal swam out of the depths and over to the side.
He, or she, I could not tell, nuzzled our guide hand with its muzzle. The front half of it's body was a perfectly formed horse, colored all in a deep green. It was gracile and sleek with a long flowing mane and forelock. The back half looked like the sea horses that I had seen at the local aquarium. It's tail locked around a weed that was waving nearby to help it hold on. The guide looked away from the tank but kept her hand in place on the glass. "All of the creatures here in our museum have jobs. This is done to keep them fit in mind and body. Our hippocampus pulls a chariot, much as he would have done for Poseidon." At this remark, a screen dropped from the ceiling. A movie started to play on the screen while we all crowded around it.
"The Hippocampus is
one of the most amazing sea creatures you will ever see. The are
beautiful, secretive and highly trusting.
Their endurance for work is unmatched by any beast on land or sea. During the chariot season,
they are worked just like any other horse would be worked in your world. They are
groomed and given extra food so that they are in peak physical condition for the journey that they undertake for their chariot riders."
Their endurance for work is unmatched by any beast on land or sea. During the chariot season,
they are worked just like any other horse would be worked in your world. They are
groomed and given extra food so that they are in peak physical condition for the journey that they undertake for their chariot riders."
The pictures on the
screen were of the same creature that we were face to face with as well
as another Hippocampus who was colored all in blue. They were
pulling a chariot of silver around an underwater track with other
competitors. The competitors were all urging their steeds onward
with their words but not with whips. I found this
admirable. The duo that, I assumed, were in the tank in front of
us, won the race by a nose and the crowd that was packed in the stands
got to their feet and cheered. With that, the screen disappeared
into the dark ceiling above and the Hippocampus disappeared into the
dark water before us.
"I have taken you through land, air and sea. Our next creature will be undoubtedly known to all of you and, likely, our most spectacular," said our guide as she turned to go through the door that we had entered to get to he aquarium. Most of our group stood starring at the water hoping to catch another glimpse of the Hippocampus. He did not reappear, so we followed our guide through the door.
Author's Notes:
There isn't much to tell about my contribution to this story. There is very little information about the Hippocampus on the web except for the fact that it pulled Poseidon's chariots. I made up the video about the chariot races and the information about the Hippocampus' personality. The other information can be found in the web sources below.
Web Sources:
Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hippocampus.html
Theoi Project
www.theoi.com/Pontos/Hippokampoi.html
Image Information:
Hippocampus by Annette Sepega - Original Image
Hippocampus by Katy L. Rewston - Original Image
"I have taken you through land, air and sea. Our next creature will be undoubtedly known to all of you and, likely, our most spectacular," said our guide as she turned to go through the door that we had entered to get to he aquarium. Most of our group stood starring at the water hoping to catch another glimpse of the Hippocampus. He did not reappear, so we followed our guide through the door.
Author's Notes:
There isn't much to tell about my contribution to this story. There is very little information about the Hippocampus on the web except for the fact that it pulled Poseidon's chariots. I made up the video about the chariot races and the information about the Hippocampus' personality. The other information can be found in the web sources below.
Web Sources:
Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hippocampus.html
Theoi Project
www.theoi.com/Pontos/Hippokampoi.html
Image Information:
Hippocampus by Annette Sepega - Original Image
Hippocampus by Katy L. Rewston - Original Image