Quick answer
The hippocampus is a mythical sea-horse. This profile focuses on the composite horse recorded among Poseidon's sanctuary offerings by Pausanias, 2.1.9.
Source status and names
The evidence is a description of an image, not an encounter with a living creature. Pausanias does not name it Hippocampus here. Identifying it under that name follows the historical dictionary excerpt reproduced by Theoi. That excerpt describes a horse combined with a sea monster or fish and explicitly refers to Pausanias. The name therefore connects this particular sanctuary image with a broader category of mythical sea-horses; it is not a personal name supplied by the ancient account. Theoi also records Hippokampos and Hippocamp; these are naming variants, not additional beings.
- record type
- creature
- tradition
- Greek religious imagery: Isthmian sanctuary of Poseidon
- source scope
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.1.7–9, especially 2.1.9; W. H. S. Jones translation, Loeb Classical Library, volume I, 1918.
- aliases
- ["Hippokampos", "Hippocamp"]
Source account
Pausanias places the composite horse among offerings inside Poseidon's sanctuary. His account first describes a chariot group dedicated by Herodes the Athenian: four horses, Tritons, and figures of Poseidon and Amphitrite. The horses are gilded, with ivory hoofs. These details belong to that group; Pausanias does not explicitly give its horses the composite anatomy.
He then lists other offerings, including Calm, Sea, the composite horse, Ino, Bellerophontes and Pegasus. The sea-horse and Pegasus are separate entries in this catalogue. Their proximity records their shared sanctuary setting, rather than a story in which they act together. Source: 2.1.7–9.
Supported description
Jones renders the body beyond the breast as whale-like. This translation should not become a precise zoological classification. No powers, colour or size are specified for this image. Source: 2.1.9.
Source realm
The setting is Poseidon's sanctuary on the Corinthian Isthmus. This establishes a religious setting, not a documented habitat. Source: 2.1.6–9. Explore the Greek tradition guide.
Bibliography
- Pausanias. Description of Greece, volume I, translated by W. H. S. Jones. Loeb Classical Library, 1918. Book 2, chapter 1, sections 7–9. Primary account; reproduced by Theoi.
- Theoi Project, “Hippokampoi”: naming table and historical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology excerpt. Supporting identification only; broader claims are outside this profile.