Bellerophon and the Chimera
The wronged hero vanquishes a dreadful monster with the help of a winged horse, but then it all goes to his head.
The wronged hero vanquishes a dreadful monster with the help of a winged horse, but then it all goes to his head.
The detailed myth of Bellerophon comes from a variety of ancient sources, but the basic tale is found in Homer’s ‘Iliad’. It is a tale of the ‘pride that goeth before a fall’ (Proverbs 16:18), and has a starring role for that most noble of all mythological figures, Pegasus, the winged horse.
AFTER Bellerophon spurned the advances of Anteia, Queen of Tyrins, she had the handsome hero banished to Lycia. With him went a coded letter to the King, Iobates, who just happened to be Anteia’s father, recommending that Bellerophon be put to death.
Iobates thought this could be accomplished without fuss if Bellerophon were sent to tackle the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a goat’s body. But Bellerophon sought out Athene, and the goddess lent him Pegasus, the magnificent winged stallion sired by Poseidon. With his help, Bellerophon was able to slay the Chimera.
Intoxicated by his victory and his winged mount, Bellerophon rose ever higher, until Zeus realised that he meant to fly to Olympus. So the king of the gods sent a gadfly, and a tormented Pegasus threw his rider far below to earth.
Bellerophon spent the rest of his days wandering in regret, but Zeus kept Pegasus on Olympus, to carry his thunderbolts.*
HMS Bellerophon was one of England’s greatest warships, which saw action at The Glorious First of June in 1794, and was with Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It was aboard Bellerophon that Wellington accepted Napoleon Bonaparte’s surrender following The Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Why did Bellerophon leave Tyrins?
He was banished on the Queen’s orders.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Anteia sent Iobates a letter. She told him to kill Bellerophon. The letter upset him.