The Ancient Greek’s Giant Horse Headed Chicken!
So I’m curious if this technically qualifies as a mythical beast… while there are numerous visual representations of the Hippalectryon in ancient sculptures, ceramics and freezes etc… there is no official myth in which this horse chicken hybrid plays a principal role. So that leaves us a unique opportunity to leave this sucker wide open and let you tell its tale in pictures… or just draw a silly “cock horse”… really up to you…
Here’s what we do know
- Has the Hind quarters and wings of a very large chicken with golden feathers
- Has the front half of a horse stuck to the front of that large chicken
- Some illustrations show horse-ish forelegs, some don’t… up to you
- They’re greek, so they’re probably way into robes, columns, wine and gyros
So there you have it. we’re back to two weeks again to finish of our summer battles (then its back to one!). They’re due by Midnight the night of the 26th but, draw now so you dont forget. I’ll use that time to claim us a suitable judge. You know how it works, draw, and have fun with it! I promise, it’ll make your week better!!!
While our judge this round is more than familiar with judgements and the many involved factors going into them (he’s the hardnosed but big hearted lawyer at my current employer), this time he gets to play a lil switcheroo and instead of arguing the cause gets to rule over the court and dispense justice with his every word! Or at least pick his fav beast. His name’s Doug, and with some focused deliberations with input from both his(almost) 5-year-old and 2-year-old, has come up with the following conclusions:
#14 is the clear favorite of my sons, and they were pretty into it. That probably should have been enough to take it, but it seemed more dragon to me and not faithful enough to the original Greek conception (about which I know very little, of course).
#13 had some Grecian dignity that seemed appropriate, but it was too much rooster and not enough horse, and the horse head was just a bit too human.
#6 was a personal favorite because the expression seemed just right for a half-horse, half-rooster. But the ancient Greeks probably weren’t going for sardonic (again, this is based on pretty much nothing).
#5 was initially the leader, and it was skillfully done and is a nice rendering, with more than a little of the pegasus-ian magic about it. But it would be too typical of the lawyer to go with a more conventional, even if high quality, choice.
#7 is my winner. At first it seemed to have too much rooster and not enough horse, but after thinking more about it, I think it’s what the ancient Greeks would have chosen out of this group. I liked all the detail and the mid-stride (or mid-preen?) pose. This hippalectryon owns his absurdity and has a good deal of pride, which I respect.
So that’s it! Disagree if you must but know the judges word is law! And While the contest aspect of this beast is done please feel free to draw a Hippalectryon at anytime and send it in and we’ll add it to the archives. Remember 25 beasts drawn earns you a shirt!
