Chapter XIV: Bellerophon

In the city of Corinth there were two young brothers, the sons of Glaucus, the son of Sisyphus, one of whom was called Bellerophon, and was gifted by the gods with great strength and beauty. But one day, when he was out hunting with his brother, he threw his spear at a hind, and the spear missed its aim and accidentally hit his brother, who died of the wound. Bellerophon was very much grieved, and wished he could have been killed himself rather than have done this; but nevertheless he had to leave his father's house and the city of Corinth, for everyone who killed another by accident was banished. He set out, not knowing who would receive him, but he determined first of all to seek for someone who would purge him from the stain of blood; for the Greeks held that whoever had killed another, even though unintentionally, was defiled, and needed to be purified by means of sacrifices and baths. It was not everyone who understood how to do this, but Bellerophon heard that King Proetus was learned in these matters, and he went to him and begged him to purify him. Proetus did what was necessary, and as the young hero pleased him, he begged him to stay with him and be his guest, and {46} treated him as his own son. But the queen was so much struck with the beauty of Bellerophon that she longed to have him for her husband, and she had a secret conversation with him, and proposed that they should both flee out of the country and be married. But Bellerophon could not have acted so ungratefully towards his kind host if the queen had been the most beautiful woman in the world, and he told her plainly that he would not do as she wished. Then all her fondness was turned into hatred and a fierce desire to kill him, and she went to her husband and said that Bellerophon had begged her to go away with him and be his wife, and that when she had refused, he had got angry and had said he should put the king to death. The king believed his wife and was exceedingly angry, but as Bellerophon was his guest, he would not himself lay hands on him. He thought of another way of taking his life, and concealing his resentment, asked Bellerophon if he would take a message from him to his father-in-law Iobates, who was king of Lycia. It was a long distance by sea as well as by land to the country of Lycia, but Bellerophon was glad to do anything to please Proetus, and he at once promised to go. Proetus took a wooden tablet, and made signs upon it to signify that his father-in-law was to put the messenger to death, and then he covered the tablet with another, and tied a string round it. This was the way in which all letters were sent at that time, for paper and ink were not yet invented.

Bellerophon took the letter and set out, suspecting nothing. He travelled for some time till he came to the sea, where he found a ship about to sail to the {47} opposite coast, so he got into it, and after a few days' journey, arrived at the country of King Iobates who received him in a very friendly manner. It was not then the custom to ask a guest his name and his business as soon as he arrived, and for nine days Iobates entertained Bellerophon without knowing who he was, and every day he sacrificed a bull, and feasted with his guest. The Greeks used to cut off the thigh-bones of the animals they sacrificed, for the gods; they covered these bones with skin and placed them in the fire to make a pleasant odour for them, and then they consumed the rest of the animal themselves. On the tenth day, King Iobates asked his guest what his name was and whether he had brought any message, and Bellerophon told his name and delivered the letter which Proetus had sent. But when the king had made out the meaning of the signs, he was greatly troubled, for he had become very fond of the young hero, and the idea of killing him had been far from his thoughts. Still, as his son-in-law urged him to do this, he supposed that Bellerophon must have committed some great crime, and he determined to carry out the wishes of Proetus. He might have murdered Bellerophon in his sleep, but he would not do that,--he willed rather that he should die like a hero, fighting for his life. There was at that time in the land of Lycia a horrible monster called the Chimaera, whose forepart was like a lion, her back like a dragon, and in the middle she was a goat. At night the Chimaera remained on her mountain, but in the daytime she came down and laid waste the cornfields and devoured men and cattle, causing great distress all over the country. The king asked Bellerophon {48} whether he had courage enough to encounter the monster, and Bellerophon said yes, for he longed to be a real hero whose exploits men relate in song, and he was ready to venture upon any errand however dangerous it might be. So he armed himself with spear and sword, and set out in search of the Chimaera. The gods were pleased with him for his courage, but they knew that he must perish in the fight if they did not help him. He had not gone far when there came down from heaven a beautiful horse with wings like a bird, which flew round and round him. This horse was called Pegasus, and belonged to the gods. Bellerophon was delighted with the beautiful animal, and tried to attract him by whistling and coaxing. At last he persuaded him to come near enough to be stroked, and after that the hero soon succeeded in placing himself on his back, and they flew away together through the air. Bellerophon was the first man who had ever ridden upon such a horse. He would have found Pegasus a perfect steed if he had understood what was said to him, but instead of doing as he wished, he always went the wrong way. So he dismounted and continued his journey on foot, and Pegasus flew round him in beautiful curves, and was his travelling companion. By-and-by he met an old man who was a soothsayer, and he asked the hero how he came to possess such a beautiful animal. Bellerophon told him all about it, and added that he wished he knew how to make the horse obedient to his will, and then the soothsayer said that he would soon come to a place dedicated to the goddess Athene, and that if anyone who was in need of counsel chose to sleep in the temple, {49} the goddess would often help him by a dream. Bellerophon resolved to try this, and as the stars were beginning to shine, he reached the temple of Athene; and he went in and stretched himself on the floor with his head resting on the step of the altar for a pillow, while the horse slept outside the door. When it was nearly morning, the goddess Athene appeared to him in a dream and told him that she loved all brave heroes, and was glad to help him. She showed him a golden ribbon, and said that if he put it into the mouth of the horse and held the two ends in his hand, it would be a means of communication between them. She placed the golden ribbon in his hand, and he awoke, still holding it. It was the first bridle, and had been invented by the goddess Athene. He went out at once, put the ribbon into the mouth of the horse, and swung himself on to his back. Then they flew away, and the steed obeyed the rein, and went just where the hero wished. Bellerophon was very much pleased at this, and he offered up prayers and thanks to Athene for the help she had given him.

After this Bellerophon continued his journey through the air, and when it was evening he came to a mountain by the sea from which he saw a flame of fire ascending, and this showed him where the Chimaera was. He flew towards the place on the back of Pegasus, and perceived the horrible form of the monster. Pegasus hovered over her, and Bellerophon shot an arrow which wounded her in the neck and gave her great pain; this made her furious, and she stood up on her hind feet and puffed out her fiery breath into the air, hoping to scorch Bellerophon to death. But he was so {50} high up that he was not hurt by it, and he shot her in the back with another arrow, so that she rolled about in pain, howling horribly, and then he sent a third arrow into her side. She had now only strength enough to moan, and in a little while she was dead. Then Bellerophon could come down to the mountain which was no longer unsafe for people to set foot upon; he slept there that night, and in the morning he cut off the head of the Chimaera, and set out upon his way home again.

When Bellerophon stood before Iobates with the head of the Chimaera in his hand, the king was very much astonished, for he had thought there was not a chance that he would escape being killed by her. But he was still desirous of carrying out the wishes of Proetus, and he therefore sent the hero to fight against a barbarous people on the outskirts of his kingdom, who lived by plunder and robbery. No one who had hitherto been sent against them had ever returned alive, but the gods helped Bellerophon, and he slew a great many of the robbers and drove away the rest.

A third time the king sent him away, and now it was to fight against a still stronger people. But after a few days had passed, there came messengers to tell him that the hero had put the enemy to flight and was about to return. Then the king chose out the strongest Lycian youths, and set them in ambush on the road leading to the city. In the evening, however, Bellerophon entered the palace unhurt. The king thought he must have come by another road, and he asked him if he had met nothing on the way. Bellerophon answered, 'Near the city there were some {51} cowardly knaves lying in ambush, whom I slew.' Then the king knew that Bellerophon must be under the protection of the gods, and he laid aside all thoughts of doing him any injury, and told him that on account of the request of Proetus he had sent him on these expeditions in order that he might meet his death, but that from henceforth he would be his friend. He gave him the most beautiful of all his daughters for his wife, and begged him to stay with him and take part in the government of the country. The wedding soon took place, and from that time Bellerophon had a kingly staff like Iobates, and sat beside him on the throne to give judgment in all cases of difficulty. The Lycians gave him some of their land for his own, of which one part consisted of corn-fields, another part was a wine country, and the third was planted with beautiful fruit trees. The winged horse Pegasus was well taken care of, and Bellerophon ever treasured him as one of his dearest friends.

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