Balius and Xanthus

Common card · No. 353516

Balius (; Ancient Greek: Βάλιος, Balios, possibly "dappled") and Xanthus (; Ancient Greek: Ξάνθος, Xanthos, "blonde") were, according to Greek mythology, two immortal horses, the offspring of the harpy Podarge and the West wind, Zephyrus. In other traditions, Poseidon is the father of Xanthus along with another horse named Cyllarus to an unnamed mother. It is possible that Xanthus's ability to speak prophetically may be related to Arion, another mythical horse reported to have saved Adrastus from the war of the Seven against Thebes with his prophetic abilities in Statius's Thebaid.

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