Bellerophon and the Winged Horse Pegasus

Long ago there lived a great king named Sisyphus who ruled one of Greece's many kingdoms. He had a daughter who was beautiful and kindhearted and loved by all the men in the land. This beautiful girl loved the sea and spent a lot of time walking on the beach and watching the waves. One day she returned to the castle wet with sea water. When Sisyphus asked why she was wet, she refused to reply.

Exactly nine months after that day, she gave birth to a son. When Sisyphus demanded that she tell him who the father was, she again refused to answer. She named her son Bellerophon and raised him with all the love a mother could give. Later she had a second son and called him Deliades.

Bellerophon grew up into a strong and brave young man. People all over the land admired his great skill in fighting, and all women said he was as handsome as he was strong. Everyone wondered who his father was for certainly his father must be a great hero. Many people said that his father was actually the god of the sea, Poseidon. No one could say for certain that Bellerophon was the son of a god, but many people believed that he was. Bellerophon, himself, believed that he was a god's son.

One day while they were out hunting together, Bellerophon accidentally killed his brother Deliades with an arrow. This angered Sisyphus greatly, and he ordered his men to find Bellerophon and punish him. Bellerophon had not intended to kill his brother and wanted to avoid the punishment, so he left his homeland and escaped to the land of Tiryns. Once in Tiryns, Bellerophon went to meet the king and offer him his strength and services.

Tiryns was ruled by a king named King Proteus and his wife, Anteia. The people of Tiryns were always very kind to their guests and had many laws saying that guests should be treated like a member of your own family. Due to this, Proteus invited Bellerophon to stay in the castle for as long as he wanted.

While living in the castle, Queen Anteia grew to like Bellerophon and desired him for his youth and beauty. One night she went to his room and asked him to sleep with her. However, Bellerophon refused and demanded that she leave his room at once. The queen felt so angry and embarrassed by Bellerophon's actions that she decided to take revenge on him. With this in mind, she told her husband that Bellerophon had tried to rape her.

Hearing this made Proteus red with anger, but he dared not kill Bellerophon, for the laws of the land said that one could not hurt their own guest. So instead of killing Bellerophon himself Proteus decided to have someone else do it for him. He gave Bellerophon a closed letter and asked him to bring it to Anteia's father, King Iobates. Bellerophon accepted the task happily, for he was anxious to repay all of Proteus' kindness. Inside the letter, Proteus wrote:

The man carrying this letter tried to rape your daughter Anteia. I have sent him to you for punishment. King Proteus.

However Proteus' plan for Bellerophon's death failed. Iobates also had to follow the laws of the land and could not harm a guest. Instead, he thought of a plan to trick the young man into going to his death himself.

In Iobates' kingdom lived a terrible monster called the Chimaera. The monster had the body of a lion and three different heads. In addition to the normal lion head, there was also a large snake head and the head of a goat. Strangely enough, the goat's head was the most dangerous of the three, because that head could breathe out fire.

Killing the Chimaera was a terrible and dangerous task, and Iobates felt sure that Bellerophon would be killed if he fought the monster. One day, the old king told Bellerophon about the Chimaera and told him about how it was killing his people and destroying the countryside. "If some brave man could kill this monster he would be a hero in the hearts of all my people!" said the king, looking at Bellerophon.

When Bellerophon heard the king's words, he jumped up and said that he himself would kill the Chimaera and end the people's fear. Bellerophon knew that this task was almost impossible, but he felt that king Iobates had been a very good host to him and wanted to repay his kindness. Still, Bellerophon did not have any idea how he could kill the Chimaera. Before facing the monster, he decided to find Polyeides, a man of great wisdom and learning who lived in Iobates' kingdom. Polyeides had once been a great hero himself, but he had since grown old and moved to a small house far away from other people.

Polyeides told Bellerophon that the only way for one man to defeat the Chimaera was if he could fly. "If you attacked the Chimaera from above," Polyeides explained, "you would have a great advantage over the monster."

Bellerophon was confused and asked, "But how can I fly in the sky? I am not a bird."

"You must go and capture the great and beautiful Pegasus, the white winged-horse that lives in the magic forest to the east," said Polyeides. "First pray to the gods and ask for their help in this difficult task. Then search for Pegasus."

Following Polyeides' instructions, Bellerophon spent the entire night praying to the gods and asking for their help. Bellerophon did not fall asleep until the sun came up over the mountains. When Bellerophon awoke, he found a golden horse bridle on the ground beside him. The bridle had been left there by the goddess Athena. Bellerophon was happy, for he knew that the gods supported him in his task.

After searching the magic forest for several days, Bellerophon finally found Pegasus drinking water from a river. Holding the golden bridle in one hand, Bellerophon carefully approached the amazing animal. The horse noticed him coming closer and turned his head towards Bellerophon's and looked in his eyes. For a moment, Bellerophon feared that Pegasus would fly away. However, to his surprise, the horse again put his head down to the water and continued to drink.

Slowly, Bellerophon reached out to touch Pegasus and put the golden bridle on his head. Pegasus did not fight or argue and waited calmly as Bellerophon climbed onto his back. An instant later, Pegasus had jumped into the air and flew quickly upward. Soon Bellerophon found himself high among the clouds. All day, Bellerophon flew high in the sky looking down at the land below. In his heart, Bellerophon felt like a god flying in the heavens. It was a wonderful feeling! He was sure that his father must have been a god, or else Pegasus would not have let him ride her.

The next day, Bellerophon collected together some weapons. He prepared a sword, bow, arrows, and a thick coat and rode Pegasus to find the Chimaera. Due to Pegasus' great speed, he quickly found the monster. Pegasus flew down at the monster, and Bellerophon swung at it with his sword. The Chimaera's goat head breathed fire at Bellerophon, but Pegasus was too fast and escaped the monster's attack. Then Bellerophon pulled out an arrow and prepared his bow. His very first shot went through the neck that all three of the Chimaera's heads shared. The monster tried to let out a sound of pain, but only blood came out of its three terrible mouths.

With the monster dead and his task complete, Bellerophon returned to Iobates' castle to give him the news. He expected Iobates would thank him for his heroic deed, but, strangely, the king looked angry and gave Bellerophon another dangerous task. Bellerophon completed this task successfully as well and was given another. Each time, Bellerophon succeeded, he received yet another dangerous mission. Soon Iobates realized that Bellerophon was not going to be killed on these dangerous missions.

So, Iobates decided to ignore the law and kill Bellerophon directly. He sent ten of his bravest and most skilled soldiers to kill Bellerophon. But to Iobates' surprise, Bellerophon killed them all. Iobates was amazed by Bellerophon's skill and began to think that Bellerophon was protected by the gods. At this same time, Bellerophon finally realized that Iobates had wanted him to fail in his dangerous tasks. And now, the king had sent men to kill him. But why? Bellerophon had no idea.

Bellerophon was a brave man and decided to talk with Iobates directly. When he spoke with the Iobates, the king showed him the letter from King Proteus. Bellerophon was shocked and explained the true situation with Anteia. When the king heard Bellerophon's story, he believed him and was deeply sorry for trying to kill him. To show his thanks for all the great deeds that Bellerophon had done for his kingdom, King Iobates offered Bellerophon his youngest daughter, Philonoe, in marriage. Bellerophon accepted and became the prince of the kingdom and enjoyed great wealth and comfort.

However, after a few years of marriage, Bellerophon became bored of the life of a prince. He felt that his heroic deeds had proven that he was certainly the son of a god. His pride began to grow, until finally he became convinced being a prince was not a great enough honor for him. He wanted to become a god, not remain a common man. He was determined to join the gods in heaven, even if he had to use force!

Bellerophon collected his weapons and climbed onto Pegasus once more. With his sword in hand, he ordered Pegasus up into the sky, toward the top of Mt. Olympus where all the gods lived. Zeus, the king of the gods, watched the foolish man as he flew toward heaven and was angry that a common man would dare attack the gods. He was about to throw lightning at Bellerophon to kill him, but he did not want to hurt Pegasus, who was loved by the gods. Instead, he sent a bee to sting Pegasus under his tail. When Pegasus felt the sting, jumped up suddenly and threw Bellerophon off his back.

Bellerophon fell all the way back down to earth. The great fall did not kill him, but he was terribly injured. The gods had allowed Bellerophon to survive his fall. His body was broken in many places and he could no longer use his arms and legs well. His head was hit so hard that he was no longer able to see or speak. With his body and heart broken, the once great hero wandered the earth alone, blind, unhappy, and unknown to any man. He had been loved by the gods, but his foolishness and pride had made them angry. The rest of his sad life was his punishment. They had decided that a quick death was not punishment enough for him, and wanted him to suffer for many years.

No one knows when and where Bellerophon died. Nor does anyone really know whether Bellerophon was really the son of Poseidon or just a common man. Regardless of whom his father was, Bellerophon's fortune was decided when he attacked Mt. Olympus.

Pegasus' fortune was quite different, however. After Pegasus threw Bellerophon off his back, she was welcomed into Mt. Olympus. She lived forever among the gods and goddess and wandered freely in heaven and on earth.

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