2. Bellerophon and Pegasus
◊ Glaucus was the king of Ephyre, the city later called Corinth.
◊ Sisypus was the father of Glaucus, who was punished by Hades because he betrayed a
secret of Zeus. He must forever roll a stone up hill.
◊ Glaucus was a great horseman and he fed his horses by a human flesh to make his horses
fierce in battle. Through that Glaucus was thrown from his chariot and his horses tore
him into pieces and devoured him.
◊ Bellerophon a bold and beautiful young man was held to be Glaucus son but it was
rumored that he is the son of Poseidon, the ruler of the sea.
◊ Eurynome was the mortal mother of Bellerophon and she had been taught by Athena and
become the peer of the Gods.
◊ More than anything else Bellerophon wanted Pegasus. Pegasus was a marvelous horse
which had sprung from the Gorgon’s blood when Perseus killed her.
◊ A wise seer from Ephyre, Polyidus advice Bellerophon to go to Athena’s temple and
sleep there. Because Gods often spoke to men in their dreams.
◊ Bellerophon lying in slumber beside the altar, he seemed to see the goddess standing
before him with a golden thing in her hand. The bridle all of gold that was the charm to
the steed Bellerophon want to covet.
◊ Bellerophon hurried out and goes to find Pegasus. When he is drinking from the far-
famed spring of Corinth a horse looked at him tranquilly and suffered him to be bridled
without the least troubled. Athena’s charm had worked.
◊ Bellerophon was now the master of a glorious creature. Pegasus was not only a joy, but a
help in time of need as well, for hard trials lay before Bellerophon.
◊ Through accident, he killed his brother and went to Argos where the King Proetus
purified him. And his trials began…
◊ The wife of Proetus named Anteia fell in love with Bellerophon but when she know that
Bellerophon is not interested with her, she told her husband that their guest should be
punished and must die because the guest did something to her that hurt her.
◊ Proetus was angry but he can’t use violence against Bellerophon because he had eaten at
his table and there’s a rule of Zeus that you don’t have the right to do something bad to
your guest once they had eaten on your house.
3. ◊ However, Proetus made a plan which seemed certain to have the same result. What he did
is he sent Bellerophon to take a letter to King of Lycia in Asia and he agreed.
◊ The Lycian King received him with hospitality for nine days before he asked to see the
letter. Then he read that Proetus wanted the young man be killed. But he did not care to
do so, for the same reason that had made Proetus unwilling.
◊ He decided to send Bellerophon on an adventure together with his winged horse. So he
ask him to slay the Chimaera fo he know that Bellerophon would never come back.
◊ But Bellerophon riding Pegasus can go near the flaming monster. He soared up over the
Chimaera and with his arrows at no risk to himself.
◊ When he went back to Proetus, he got him to go on an expedition against the Solymi,
mighty warriors and he succeeded and against the Amazons but there’s nothing happen
because there’s no conflict at all, therefore, he succeeded too. Through that Proetus and
Bellerophon became friends and the King gave his daughter to Bellerophon to marry.
◊ Bellerophon lives happily for a long time then he made the gods angry. He tried to ride
Pegasus up to Olympus believing that he could take place there with the immortals. But
the horse was wiser he would not try the flight but he threw his rider. After that
Bellerophon hated of the gods, wandered alone, devouring his own soul and avoiding
paths of men until he died.
◊ Pegasus found a shelter in the heavenly stalls of Olympus where the steed of Zeus we
cared for. And when Zeus wised to use his thunderbolt, it was Pegasus who brought the
thunder and lightning to him.