Myths and Legends

umans have long been fascin­ated with flight, as ancient myths and legends reveal. Some stories were about flying gods, while others told of magical winged creatures. Some of the most interesting tales told of bold humans who attempted to fly.

Gods of the Air

It is not very surprising that ancient humans-bound to Earth-would believe their gods had the ability to fly. This ability underscored the difference between the human and the divine.

Some gods simply moved through the air in unexplained ways. Others are shown with wings. The ancient Egyptian god Horus had the body-or sometimes just the head-of a falcon. Garuda, a god of ancient India, had the body and arms of a human and the wings, head, and claws of an eagle. The Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia showed its chief god, Ahura Mazda, with large wings-in some depictions, in fact, the god is just a circle flanked by huge wings. The Greek gods Eros and Nike were also shown with wings.

While many ancient gods could fly, this ability is generally not a central fea­ture of myths about them. An exception is Helios, the Greek god of the Sun. He rode a chariot through the sky each day, carrying the Sun on its daily journey.

One interesting Greek myth tells of the dangers of misusing the power to fly, even for the gods. One day, Phaeton, the

son of Helios, drove his father’s golden chariot on his own. The young god did not have the strength or experience of his father, however, and the horses pulling the chariot went out of control. Zeus, king of the gods, knew that Earth would be scorched if this continued. He threw a thunderbolt to stop the runaway chariot. The horses returned to their nor­mal course, saving humankind, but the young god was killed.

There are other ancient mythologies that include flying vehicles used by the gods. Baal, the god of the Canaanite people who lived in what is now Israel,

rode a chariot of clouds. Indian myths are full of stories about flying vehicles called vimanas, which the Hindu gods often used in battle.