The horse - Greek 'hippos' - was a symbol of wealth, status, military power, and divine majesty. Horses were integral to a thriving economy, and an essential part of victorious warfare. These high value and high maintenance luxury items, were pretty much restricted to ownership by the aristocracy and/or the wealthy.

Owning and entering chariot teams in the Panhellenic Games (such as the Olympic in Olympia, the Pythian in Delphi) and in the Panathenaic Games in Athens, brought great prestige to the owner. Achilles in the Iliad rode into battle with immortal horses (who could also speak) Xanthos and Balios.

Poseidon, god of the sea, oceans, and earthquakes, created the horse from the crashing waves, connecting the animal's untamed, powerful spirit to elemental fury. The sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene drove their horse-drawn chariots across the sky, anchoring the horse in the daily rhythm of the universe. Pegasus the winged horse, and son of Poseidon and Medusa, represents the ultimate bridge between the earthly realm and divine inspiration.

Figurines in bronze and terracotta have been found in abundance in ancient Greek religious sanctuaries, where they would have been sold to visitors to leave as offerings to the gods.

The Geometric Style in Greek art dates to ca 900-700 BCE.

The decoration is formulaic, with the repetition of stylised motifs such as the zigzag, the triangle, the meander, and other linear and wave motifs. In addition to these abstract elements, vase painters gradually introduced stylized animals and human forms.

The literary counterpart would be the repeated epithets and formulaic phrases in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.