365 Days in Horse Country – Balius and Xanthas
The Greek hero Achilles did not conquer Troy by himself. He had the help of two divine horses, named Balius and Xanthas, who pulled his chariot.
Balius and Xanthas were brothers and were sired by none other than Zeus himself. Their mother was a harpie (a death spirit with a bird’s body and a woman’s head). They were given to Achilles by his father, King Peleus, after the horses were gifted to Peleus by the god Poseidon.
Patroclus was Achilles’ comrade in arms, and he cared for Balius and Xanthas in the stable. When Patroclus died on the battlefield, the two divine horses stood by him and wept. When Achilles found his friend dead, he reprimanded Xanthas for not protecting Patroclus. Here, Zeus’s wife, broke divine law and gave Xanthas the gift of speech so he could tell Achilles that god had killed his friend and that the same god would soon kill him. Xanthas’ ability to speak was then taken away from him by one of the Furies, a goddess of revenge. Xanthas never spoke again.
Michael