Creature of the Week - Hippocamp

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The hippocamp is a hybrid sea creature - a literal sea-horse. The beast has the front half of a horse and the scaly back half of a fish. The hippocamp is found in Greek, Phoeician, and Etruscan mythology.

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Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, is often portrayed riding across the waves in a chariot drawn by hippocamps. Nereids often ride on their backs. (I'll feature Nereids next week.)

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According to Greek legend, Jason and his Argonauts were on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. Once when they did not know the way, a giant hippocamp was unhitched from Poseidon's chariot, rose from the sea, and galloped away across the desert. The Argonauts followed the creature's tracks as they carried their boat on their shoulders until they reached the next bay.