Bellerophon

A man was killed by accident, and Bellerophon fled Corinth. One account names the victim Bellerus. It says that this death gave Bellerophon his name, since his earlier name was Hipponous. Other accounts identify the dead man as Bellerophon’s brother, Deliades. Further variants give the names Peiren and Alcimenes. One account places the killing during a hunt. Another gives no explanation beyond the fact that it was accidental.

Bellerophon was the son of Glaucus and the grandson of Sisyphus, King of Corinth. Fearing the consequences of the bloodshed, he left Corinth and went to Tiryns. There he sought refuge with King Proetus. Another account sends him to Argos, where Proetus was also king and was his kinsman. Bellerophon came as a suppliant and guest and asked the king to receive him.

Proetus purified Bellerophon from the killing. The king’s wife then became involved in his troubles. She is called Anteia in some accounts and Stheneboea in others. She fell in love with Bellerophon and tried to persuade him to leave with her or accept her advances. He refused because Proetus had received him as a guest and had treated him kindly.

Angered by this refusal, the queen accused Bellerophon of trying to seduce her, or of attempting to violate her. Proetus believed her accusation and wanted him punished. He would not kill Bellerophon himself because the young man had eaten at his table. Killing a guest would bring guilt upon him. Instead, Proetus sent Bellerophon to Iobates, the king’s father-in-law and the queen’s father, with a sealed letter. The letter asked Iobates to kill its bearer. Iobates also refused to kill a royal guest directly. He later gave Bellerophon a deadly task, the destruction of the Chimaera.

Bellerophon had captured Pegasus at the well of Pirene with a bridle. Mounted on the winged horse, he defeated the Chimaera and overcame the further trials set by Iobates. Seeing that the gods favoured him, Iobates gave him his daughter in marriage and made him heir to the Lycian throne.

Bellerophon then became proud of his success. He decided that he was the equal of the immortal gods and summoned Pegasus for another flight. He rose higher and higher, intending to reach Olympus and enter the dwelling of the gods. Zeus saw the mortal flying towards heaven on the winged horse and sent a gadfly against Pegasus.

The gadfly stung Pegasus, in some accounts beneath the tail. The horse reared and bucked violently, throwing Bellerophon far down to the earth. One account says that the fall deprived him of his eyesight. Other accounts say that it left him lame and blind, or crippled him by shattering both legs. In one version, he fell into a thorn bush.

After the fall, Bellerophon wandered alone and avoided the paths of men. He groped his way in misery, or dragged himself across the earth, until he died. Pegasus continued to Olympus. There he found shelter among Zeus’s heavenly horses, and one account says that he carried Zeus’s thunder and lightning. Another says that Pegasus was placed among the constellations as a reward for his faithful service.

Bellerophon came to Tiryns after fleeing Corinth. He had caused the death of another man, identified in different accounts as his brother or as Bellerus, and sought refuge with Proetus, king of Tiryns. Proetus received him as a suppliant. While Bellerophon stayed at the court, Proetus’s wife, Stheneboea, also called Anteia, fell in love with him. She invited him to leave with her, but he refused because he would not betray Proetus, who had treated him as a friend.

Stheneboea then accused Bellerophon of making improper advances towards her. Proetus believed her charge, but he would not kill his guest directly, since this would bring blood guilt upon him. He therefore sent Bellerophon to Iobates, king of Lycia and Stheneboea’s father, with a sealed letter asking that the young man be killed. Iobates also hesitated to shed the blood of a royal guest. Instead, he ordered Bellerophon to destroy the Chimaera, a fire-breathing monster that was ravaging the Lycian countryside.

Bellerophon tamed Pegasus and flew above the Chimaera, attacking her from the air. He then completed further tasks imposed by Iobates, including fighting the Solymi and the Amazons. In one account, he also defeated Carian pirates. Iobates then sent palace guards to ambush him. Bellerophon survived these dangers, and the false accusation against him was eventually discovered.

When Stheneboea’s deceit came to light, Bellerophon brought about her death. One account says that he carried her into the air on Pegasus and caused her to fall. Another says that, fearing his vengeance, she killed herself. The accounts therefore differ over whether Bellerophon directly caused her death or drove her to suicide.

Iobates sent Bellerophon against the Amazons after he had completed the task of defeating the Solymi. The king had already ordered him to kill the Chimaera, which was ravaging the Lycian countryside. That command was intended to bring about Bellerophon’s death. Iobates had received him as a guest, but a sealed letter from Proetus had asked that he be killed. Iobates would not murder a royal guest directly, so he imposed dangerous tasks upon him instead.

With Athena’s aid, Bellerophon tamed the winged horse Pegasus. He mounted Pegasus and flew above the Chimaera. From the air, he attacked the fire-breathing monster with arrows and killed her. Iobates then ordered him to fight the Solymi, a people described as exceedingly warlike. Bellerophon rose beyond the reach of their bows and dropped large boulders upon them from above. The Solymi were defeated, and Bellerophon survived the attack.

Iobates next commanded him to attack the Amazons. Another account describes the Solymi and the Amazons together as enemies whom Bellerophon conquered from the air. The supplied accounts do not give further details of the Amazon campaign. They state that Bellerophon prevailed in the conflict. After these tasks, Iobates sent the bravest of his own men to ambush and kill him. The ambush failed. Iobates was impressed by Bellerophon’s courage and skill. He gave him his daughter Philonoe in marriage and declared him heir to the throne.

Bellerophon fled Corinth after killing his brother while hunting. One account also says that he had killed Bellerus, which earned him the name Bellerophontes, later shortened to Bellerophon. He sought refuge at the court of Proetus, where he was received as a suppliant and guest. Proetus was king of Argos in one account and king of Tiryns in another. Bellerophon was described as his kinsman.

Stheneboea, the wife of Proetus, fell in love with him. Some accounts call her Anteia. She tried to persuade Bellerophon to elope with her, but he refused because he would not betray Proetus, who had treated him well. Angered by his refusal, she accused him of trying to seduce her and demanded that he be punished.

Proetus believed her accusation. He could not kill Bellerophon himself because doing so would violate the bond between host and guest and bring the vengeance of the Furies. Instead, he sent Bellerophon to Lycia with a sealed letter for Iobates, Stheneboea’s father and king of the country. The letter stated that Bellerophon had tried to violate his wife and asked Iobates to kill him. Bellerophon did not know its contents.

Iobates also wished to avoid the guilt of killing a royal guest. He therefore ordered Bellerophon to destroy the Chimaera, a fire-breathing female monster that was devastating Lycia. With Athena’s help, Bellerophon tamed the winged horse Pegasus, mounted it, and killed the Chimaera with arrows. In the account attributed to Apollodorus, Iobates then sent him against the warlike Solymi and ordered him to attack the Amazons. Bellerophon overcame these enemies as well. The supplied account ends as Iobates prepared another command.