BELLEROPHON.
Bellerophon, a brave young prince, the grandson of Sisyphus, King of
Corinth, had the great misfortune to kill his own brother while
hunting in the forest. His grief was, of course, intense; and the
horror he felt for the place where the catastrophe had occurred, added
to his fear lest he should incur judicial punishment for his
involuntary crime, made him flee to the court of Argos, where he took
refuge with Proetus, the king, who was also his kinsman.
[Sidenote: Anteia's treachery.]
He had not sojourned there very long, before Anteia, the queen, fell
in love with him; and although her husband, Proetus, treated her with
the utmost kindness, she made up her mind to desert him, and tried to
induce Bellerophon to elope with her. Too honest to betray a man who
had treated him as a friend, the young prince refused to listen to the
queen's proposals. His refusal was to cost him dear, however; for,
when Anteia saw that the youth would never yield to her wishes, she
became very angry indeed, sought her husband, and accused the young
stranger of crimes he had never even dreamed of committing.
Proetus, indignant at what he deemed deep treachery on the part of an
honored guest, yet reluctant to punish him with his own hand as he
deserved, sent Bellerophon to Iobates, King of Lycia, with a sealed
message bidding him put the bearer to death.
Quite unconscious of the purport of this letter, Bellerophon traveled
gayly onward, and presented himself before Iobates, who received him
very hospitably, and, without inquiring his name or errand,
entertained him royally for many days. After some time, Bellerophon
suddenly remembered the sealed message intrusted to his care, and
hastened to deliver it to Iobates, with many apologies for his
forgetfulness.
[Sidenote: The Chimæra.]
With blanched cheeks and every outward sign of horror, the king read
the missive, and then fell into a deep reverie. He did not like to
take a stranger's life, and still could not refuse to comply with
Proetus' urgent request: so, after much thought, he decided to send
Bellerophon to attack the Chimæra, a terrible monster with a lion's
head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail.
"Dire Chimæra's conquest was enjoin'd;
A mingled monster, of no mortal kind;
Behind, a dragon's fiery tail was spread;
A goat's rough body bore a lion's head;
Her pitchy nostrils flaky flames expire;
Her gaping throat emits infernal fire."
Homer (Pope's tr.).
His principal motive in choosing this difficult task was, that,
although many brave men had set forth to slay the monster, none had
ever returned, for one and all had perished in the attempt.
Although very courageous, Bellerophon's heart beat fast with fear when
told what great deed he must accomplish; and he left Iobates' palace
very sorrowfully, for he dearly loved the king's fair daughter,
Philonoe, and was afraid he would never see her again.
[Sidenote: Minerva's advice.]
While thus inwardly bewailing the ill luck which had so persistently
dogged his footsteps, Bellerophon suddenly saw Minerva appear before
him in all her splendor, and heard her inquire in gentle tones the
cause of his too evident dejection. He had no sooner apprised her of
the difficult task appointed him, than she promised him her aid, and
before she vanished gave him a beautiful golden bridle, which she bade
him use to control Pegasus.
[Illustration: CHIMÆRA. (Egyptian Museum, Florence.)]
Bridle in hand, Bellerophon stood pondering her words, and gradually
remembered that Pegasus was a wonderful winged steed, born from the
blood which fell into the foam of the sea from Medusa's severed head
(p. 244). This horse, as white as snow, and gifted with immortal life
as well as incredible speed, was the favorite mount of Apollo and the
Muses, who delighted in taking aërial flights on his broad back; and
Bellerophon knew that from time to time he came down to earth to drink
of the cool waters of the Hippocrene (a fountain which had bubbled
forth where his hoofs first touched the earth), or to visit the
equally limpid spring of Pirene, near Corinth.
[Sidenote: Pegasus bridled.]
Bellerophon now proceeded to the latter fountain, where, after
lingering many days in the vain hope of catching even a glimpse of the
winged steed, he finally beheld him sailing downward in wide curves,
like a bird of prey. From his place of concealment in a neighboring
thicket, Bellerophon watched his opportunity, and, while the winged
steed was grazing, he boldly vaulted upon his back.
Pegasus, who had never before been ridden by a mortal, reared and
pranced, and flew up to dizzy heights; but all his efforts failed to
unseat the brave rider, who, biding his time, finally thrust Minerva's
golden bit between his teeth, and immediately he became gentle and
tractable. Mounted upon this incomparable steed, Bellerophon now went
in search of the winged monster Chimæra, who had given birth to the
Nemean lion and to the riddle-loving Sphinx.
[Sidenote: Chimæra slain.]
From an unclouded sky Bellerophon and Pegasus swooped suddenly and
unexpectedly down upon the terrible Chimæra, whose fiery breath and
great strength were of no avail; for after a protracted struggle
Bellerophon and Pegasus were victorious, and the monster lay lifeless
upon the blood-soaked ground.
This mighty deed of valor accomplished, Bellerophon returned to
Iobates, to report the success of his undertaking; and, although the
king was heartily glad to know the Chimæra was no more, he was very
sorry to see Bellerophon safe and sound, and tried to devise some
other plan to get rid of him.
He therefore sent him to fight the Amazons; but the hero, aided by the
gods, defeated these warlike women also, and returned to Lycia, where,
after escaping from an ambush posted by the king for his destruction,
he again appeared victorious at court.
These repeated and narrow escapes from certain death convinced Iobates
that the youth was under the special protection of the gods; and this
induced the king not only to forego further attempts to slay him, but
also to bestow upon the young hero his daughter's hand in marriage.
Bellerophon, having now attained his dearest wishes, might have
settled down in peace; but his head had been utterly turned by the
many lofty flights he had taken upon Pegasus' back, and, encouraged by
the fulsome flattery of his courtiers, he finally fancied himself the
equal of the immortal gods, and wished to join them in their celestial
abode.
[Sidenote: Bellerophon's fall.]
Summoning his faithful Pegasus once more, he rose higher and higher,
and would probably have reached Olympus' heights, had not Jupiter sent
a gadfly, which stung poor Pegasus so cruelly, that he shied
viciously, and flung his too confident rider far down to the earth
below.
"Bold Bellerophon (so Jove decreed
In wrath) fell headlong from the fields of air."
Wordsworth.
This fall, which would doubtless have killed any one but a
mythological hero, merely deprived Bellerophon of his eyesight; and
ever after he groped his way disconsolately, thinking of the happy
days when he rode along the paths of air, and gazed upon the beautiful
earth at his feet.
Bellerophon, mounted upon Pegasus, winging his flight through the air
or fighting the Chimæra, is a favorite subject in sculpture and
painting, which has frequently been treated by ancient artists, a few
of whose most noted works are still extant in various museums.
This story, like many others, is merely a sun myth, in which
Bellerophon, the orb of day, rides across the sky on Pegasus, the
fleecy white clouds, and slays Chimæra, the dread monster of darkness,
which he alone can overcome. Driven from home early in life,
Bellerophon wanders throughout the world like his brilliant prototype,
and, like it, ends his career in total darkness.