- In Greek Mythology, Bellerophon or Bellerophontes was the Hero who killed the monster Chimera and attempted to ride the flying horse Pegasus.
Description
- The Myth of Bellerophon is told by Homer in the Iliad.
- In Late Antiquity, Bellerophon was replaced by Perseus in this myth.
- During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 CE), the ‘Bellerophon’ was the name of a British Warship.
Killing the Chimera
- The Chimera was a monster that lived in Lycia in Asia Minor and terrorised the people and lands thereabouts.
- The Chimera was a fire breathing monster with two heads, the head of a lion and the head of a goat, it had the body of a goat and its tail ended in a serpent’s head.
- It was thought to have been a female and possibly the mother of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion.
- Bellerophon was sent by King Iobates of Lycia to kill the Chimera.
- Bellerophon was advised that, as no one could approach the monster because of its fire, he would need to use the flying horse, Pegasus.
- Bellerophon flew above the monster and threw a spear with a block of lead into its mouth. The heat of the fire melted the lead in the monster’s mouth and the Chimera suffocated to death.
The Fall from Pegasus
- Bellerophon became so famous, he decided to fly on Pegasus to the home of the Gods in Mount Olympus. Zeus was infuriated by his impudence and stung Pegasus with a fly.
- This caused Bellerophon to fall off Pegasus, and he fell to earth, landing in a thorn bush which blinded him. Bellerophon then spent the rest of his days alone and in misery.
Antalya (Lycia), Turkey