when we think of Greek mythology's most iconic stories and figures outside of
its gods and goddesses there are plenty of heroes that come to mind from
Odysseus and his epic voyage home to Heracles and his 12 labors and that's
not even mentioning in the likes of Theseus Achilles Jason and of course
Perseus perhaps Greek mythology's most celebrated hero
there are however some heroes who never really get a share of the spotlight despite having their own
epic stories and I think the rise and fall of Bellerophon is a perfect example
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is often described as the son of Poseidon and Eurynome
the wife of Glaucus king of Corinth
there are however some poets who disagreed believe in that Glaucus was actually his father
and though Glaucus' mother was a daughter of the Titan Atlas given him some kind of divinity I
personally like to look at Bellerophon as the demigod son of Poseidon
his story begins with him being exiled from his home in Argos
he stood before King Proetus having committed the crime of murder who
exactly he killed is never really discussed in any detail it can vary from
his own brother to a shadowy enemy and even a ruler of the Corinthians
we don't know for certain who he killed and the reasons why we just know that he
committed the crime of murder for some unknown reason King Proetus cleansed
Bellerophon of his crime and gave him a royal pardon the King's wife Queenston
the King's wife Queen Stheneboea took a liking to Bellerophon and when her advances were rejected she
accused him of forcing himself upon her the King believed in the word of his
wife was now furious to say the least not only had Bellerophon taken his
hospitality and thrown it back in his face but the pardon he gave him now made
him a guest in his kingdom and to kill a guest in your own kingdom is to incur the wrath of Zeus
the only solution Proetus had was to send Bellerophon to his father-in-law
King Iobates accompanied of a sealed letter asking
him to execute Bellerophon for violating his wife
when he arrived in lycia he dined of the king for several days before he read the message and even then
Iobates himself feared the Enrinyes would descend upon him for murdering a guest
so instead he sent Bellerophon on a mission that he believed to be impossible
he sent him to slay the Chimera a fire-breathing hybrid monster
with the head and body of a goat and lion and a serpent for a tail
the Chimera had plagued the countryside of Lycia for what felt like an eternity
and if it did indeed kill Bellerophon then his death would no longer be at the hands of Iobates or Proetus
if by some means he managed to slay the Chimera
then Iobates would have been seen as the hero king who saved his people
he could see no downside to his plan
now at this point in time Bellerophon wasn't an established hero
who you will expect to just walk up to the Chimera shop of its multiple heads and still head home in time for happy hour of Dionysus
no he would need help and a lot of it
he first traveled to the renowned seer Polyeidos who gave him crucial advice about his upcoming battle with the Chimera
he told Bellerophon that he would have to obtain the services of the winged steed Pegasus
which would give him a distinct advantage in battle
this ties in to the more classical depictions of the Chimera where it didn't have wings
meaning flying above the beast would help prevent him from being torn to pieces and burnt to cinders
Pegasus however would not come quietly he would have to be tamed and in order
and in order to do this he would have to spend the evening in the temple of Athena
during his time in the temple Athena appeared to him in a dream and when he
awoke he was given a golden bridle that he would use to tame Pegasus
in some accounts Athena appeared to him with Pegasus and in
others he would have to take the bridle and find the horse himself
there are even versions where it was Poseidon who appeared to him and with
Poseidon being the god of horses he then presented Pegasus to his son
Bellerophon at this point unaware of his father's true identity
with the aid of Pegasus Bellerophon arrived in Lycia ready to face the Chimera
it didn't take long however for Bellerophon to realize that the volley of arrows that he rained down had no effect
and so he was left flying around aimlessly attempting to avoid the turret of fire being expelled by the chimera
eventually the fire gave him an idea on the end of his spear he attached a large
block of lead he then approached the Chimera with his spear pointed head-on
the Chimera continued to breathe fire but this time the lead began to melt
causing the block of lead to break off and fall into the chimeras throat where
it lodged itself the lead continued to melt and burn the Chimera from the inside
blocking its air passage and causing it to suffocate
all of a sudden Bellerophon had done the impossible he had slain the Chimera upon return in the
upon returning the king was shocked but despite his heroics Iobates had taken all of the credit
and he refused to acknowledge that it was Bellerophon who had in fact
slain the Chimera instead he sent him on another quest in order to prove himself
he was sent to quell the uprising of the Amazons and the Solymi
tribes of warriors who had not accepted Iobates as their king
flying high above them on Pegasus he would then drop boulders on them down below literally squashing the rebellion
Iobates was now sure that Bellerophon could not have been a mere mortal and fear in him now more than
and fearing him now more than ever he decided to have him assassinated
the last task he was given was to find a group of pirates who had stolen from the crown
it was during this encounter that the assassins would strike
sadly for the King he had waited too long and
now Bellerophon was now more than aware of his strength and divine nature upon
upon being ambushed he then killed all of the assassins that were sent after him
Iobates then sent his palace guards to finish the job
but Bellerophon looked to his father for assistance and Poseidon did indeed answer
flooding parts of the city when the guards approached him
with no one to turn to Iobates finally conceded and presented Bellerophon with a new sealed letter
stating that he would marry his youngest daughter and be given half of the kingdom
Bellerophon was now given the recognition that he felt he deserved aswell as riches beyond his wildest dreams
he was now Bellerophontes the slayer of monsters the man who saved Lycia
however even a fairly exciting human life now seemed mundane
he had defeated the Chimera after all and proven himself he felt he now belonged on Mount Olympus he's rightful home
eventually he was so overcome with boredom he took Pegasus and began his ascent to Olympus
Zeus watching from above took his actions as an insult
Zeus would then send a gadfly to sting Pegasus
causing him to buck and bellerophon to be thrown off
falling back down to earth where he belonged pegasus eventually recovered and continued his
journey to Olympus where he will be greeted and welcomed by Zeus
he was then given the job of carrying Zeus's Thunderbolts across the sky
Bellerophon however did not share the same fate in some stories The Fool down to earth
killed him which in this case oddly enough seems to be the happy ending
in other stories the fall merely crippled him leaving him barely able to walk
he was cursed to roam the earth for eternity a shell of the man that he used to be
hated by both mortals and gods alike
he was no longer the Slayer of monsters he was Bellerophon than nobody
the living example of what happened to those who let their hubris dictate their action
the great hero that once was was no longer
the tales of Bellerophon arguably paved the way for many of the Greek heroes that followed
the story of Heracles performing labors to earn his Redemption is honestly very similar
if not the exact same as Bellerophon's journey as the years past tales of Bellerophon
was slowly phased out and replaced by the likes of Perseus many of us today
many of us today when we think of a hero riding Pegasus will immediately think of Perseus
and it's this fading memory of a once great hero that makes better off on a tragic hero
everybody seems to enjoy a good rise and fall story
but I think the reason I enjoy Bellerophon's story is because of how human it is
the gods and goddesses are often presented as flawed
and the heroes of Greek mythology are really no different it's quite an easy story to
it's quite an easy story to relate to
obviously not in terms of flying around on the horse killing monsters and dropping boulders on people
but in terms of how we handle Fame and success
the story serves as a reminder to the importance of humbleness and humility
not being overcome by our own arrogance
almost the idea of knowing your capabilities and place in society
but then again like Bellerophon we should always be challenging these things you never really know your limits
capabilities and even your place in society until you challenge them
regardless if the outcome is positive or negative
we can make mistakes and even do bad things and choose to learn from them and ultimately better ourselves
or like Bellerophon we can start off with good intentions and end up losing ourselves
and that is when you fall the hardest
if you have any thoughts on Bellerophon's story that you like to share then feel free to do so in the comments below
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reminding you that Bellerophon is one of the main stories of our book
so by the book
if you want
otherwise Bellerophon might just drop a boulders on your head
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