Hippocampus & Other Sea Creatures

     The hippocampus is known as the ancient “sea-horse.” They have the head and foreparts of a horse and the back end of a scaly fish or serpent. They have an association with Nereid, Goddess of the Sea and Posiedon, God of the Sea who is often shown in a chariot drawn by a number of hippocampi. There are many other images of fishtailed animals including the aigikampos, which is the form of the constellation Capricorn.

Image of a Hippocampus on a mosaic table. Located at the Museo Nazionale Romano

Winged Hippoicampi, part of the Founta di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)

A colorful floor mosaic of the hippocampus. Located at the Musei Vaticani

 Taurokampos

Image of a bull with a fish tail on a mosaic table. Located at the Museo Nazionale 

Black and white mosaic slab. Located at the Museo Nazionale Romano

Pardalokampos

Image of a leopard with a fish tail on a mosaic table. Located at the Museo Nazionale Romano

Leokampos

Image of a lion with a fish tail on a mosaic table. Located at the Museo Nazionale Romano

Aigikampos

Colorful image of a goat with a fish tail on a mosaic table. Located at the Museo Nazionale Romano

Renaissance fresco painting including an aigikampos. Located at the Villa Farnesina

Marble slab including a aigikampos relief. Located at Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa)

Atsma, Aaron J. "HIPPOCAMPS : Fabulous Fish-tailed Marine Horses." Theoi Project. N.p., 2000. Web. 16 Aug. 2013. <http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Hippokampoi.html>.

"Hippocamp." Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2013. 

<http://www.xklsv.org/viewwiki.php?title=Hippokampos>.