See U in History
Pegasus and Bellerophon
Bellerophon was a young man who had Poseidon’s blood running in his veins.
Glaucon, King of Corinth and the son of Sisyphus,
the man who dared to cheat the Gods, decided
to raise the boy as if he was his son.
Bellerophon accidentally killed his brother and, for that, he had to leave Corinth.
He moved to the kingdom of Argos, where he was welcomed by the King Proetus, with all hospitality.
The king arranged a ceremony of purification to Bellerophon, so his sins could be purged.
After his absolution, Bellerophon kept living at the palace of King Proetus.
The young man was strong and extremely handsome,
and became an object of desire of Queen
Antea, his host’s wife.
She tried to seduce him, but the young man neglected her,
since he didn't want to
dishonor the man who welcomed him.
However, the Queen could not withstand such rejection and her heart was taken by hatred.
Antea, looking to have her revenge, decided to tell her husband that Bellerophon had tried to grab her by force.
The king was enraged by that, and considered killing Bellerophon with his own hands.
But realized that such act would be against the duty of hospitality imposed by Zeus.
Proetus concatenated a plan to punish Bellerophon.
The king sent his host to his father-
in-law’s kingdom, along with a letter.
Iobates, King of Lycia, received the letter from the Bellerophon’s hand, which had the following message:
- The man, who is now in your house, dared to violate and dishonor your daughter
and
therefore his life has to come to an end.
Bellerophon could not understand the reason for the king’s stunned expression,
since the young man was already mesmerized by Princess Philonoe’s beauty.
Iobates, noticing the interest of Bellerophon in his daughter,
readied a plan to get rid of
the youngster once and for all.
- Bellerophon, you are welcome in my kingdom,
unfortunately I cannot offer you peace
and quietness,
because my land has been enduring several mischiefs.
- I’m willing to offer the hand of my beloved daughter Philonoe to the hero capable of bringing peace to my kingdom.
The valiant Bellerophon had no doubt in his mind whatsoever and offered himself to assist the king.
Iobates was pleased to see the young man biting the bait and said:
- There is a terrible creature that has plagued this region,
it destroys our pastures with its
fire and feeds itself from our cattle.
I need you help us to get rid of that creature.
Bellerophon went out with his spear to meet the creature.
Without realizing that this
monster was a chimera.
A hybrid beast, made of a lion, a dragon, a goat and a serpent,
considered one of the most dangerous creatures of the ancient world.
The King Iobates, watching his host’s departure, was sure that that would be the last time he would ever see Bellerophon.
But the gods witnessed everything and decided to intervene.
Bellerophon encountered Pegasus, the winged horse, drinking at a fountain.
The divine steed had never been mounted by a mortal being and, despite his effort, the young ma failed to tame the beast.
Exhausted, Bellerophon eventually fell asleep and, during his rest, he was visited by the goddess Athena,
who told him how he could tame the winged horse.
When he woke up, he had by his side golden reins, an offering of the goddess.
Bellerophon followed Athena’s guideless, approached Pegasus
with the reins in his
hands, and this time the horse offered no resistance.
The young man mounted the glorious creature and flew away.
The horse had never been mounted before, nonetheless Pegasus and Bellerophon established a perfect union,
both pierced the clouds, as if their destiny was to be together.
Now, in his glorious horse-riding, Bellerophon went to meet the terrible Chimera.
