Top 5 Four Horsemen

This awesome picture is clipped from Mark Wilkinson here.

Culture is and has been replete with references to the "four horsemen" since the penning of the Book of Revelation around the close of the first century CE.  Here's our top 5 four horsemen.

5: Rappers - Canibus, Killah Priest, Kurupt, and Ras Kass teamed up in 2003 to release The Horsemen Project, a full-length rap album from their group The HRSMN, a/k/a The Four Horsemen.  As rap supergroups go, Wu-Tang and N.W.A. they ain't, but they've still got enough juice to crack the list at number 5.

4: Supreme Court Justices - In the mid-Thirties, four conservative Supreme Court Justices consistently opposed FDR's New Deal agenda, occasionally convincing a fifth Justice to join them in finding programs unconstitutuional.  Theses guys--Butler, McReynolds, Sutherland, and van Devanter--even commuted together and used the time to hone their arguments.

3: Atheists - Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens were dubbed the four horsemen of the "new atheism" movement, which advocated criticism of religion by way of rational argument.  The movement spurred publication of a lot of literature and scholarship--both for and against.  The polemics inspired thought-provoking debate and vaulted these guys over the average-at-best rappers and long-dead Justices above.

"We can count this many!"

2: Wrestlers - In the 80's and 90's, the professional wrestling world was graced by the presence of the Four Horsemen--a team including Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and two other members (who changed over time, but included at various points The Road Warriors, Lex Luger, Sting, Sid Vicious, and Chris Benoit among others).  The team was involved in some good matches and memorable story lines, but its impact is still being felt as it was the forerunner of all "heel" (bad guy) groups.

From a French cathedral--I couldn't locate which one.

1: Actual Horsemen - The Book of Revelation--the final book in the Christian Bible--speaks of the end of days, when the Lamb of God will open four of seven seals, summoning riders atop four horses: a white horse representing conquest, a red horse representing war, a black horse representing famine, and a pale green horse whose rider is named Death.  The book--replete with creepy symbolism and enigmatic pronouncements--has been the inspiration (directly and indirectly) of just about every piece of fiction about the apocalypse.

Who did we leave out?  Let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to find us and like us on Facebook.