PEGASUS

Also known as PEGASOS

The sturdy winged steed of the Gods

Forget Champion the Wonder Horse, Black Beauty or Roy Roger's Trigger — PEGASUS is the real horse hero. The wings help.

Next in line was BELLEROPHON, who forcibly borrowed him to get to Olympus, but he was unseated by ZEUS with the aid of a horse fly.

Thereupon ZEUS blew up the horse's nostrils, gave him a sugar lump dipped in Ambrosia and tamed him for pulling the best chariot when the King of the Gods wanted to do sky wheelies.

Eventually PEGASUS settled down with a wife and kids and spent the rest of his mortal life inspiring the MUSES.

Pegasus Fun Factoid: SF maestro Robert Heinlein once cast doubt upon the veracity of those famous wings, claiming that Pegasus's wingspan ratio was all wrong. Apparently only a flying horse the size of a small dog is permitted by the laws of physics. Which can only mean one thing — ancient Greek Mythology was populated entirely by midgets.