Bellerophon and the Chimaera

It is a simple truth among the stories told by human beings that the most remembered are those which tell of the triumph of man over nature, good over evil and the seemingly ordinary man over a seemingly invulnerable foe. Yet the greatest stories always hold a great moral truth within their words, and hold a dire warning against the transgression of the natural order of things. No man or woman could become too powerful or too beautiful without disaster befalling them. The gods had a way of punishing such pride. One of the earliest myths of Greece evokes all of these things – the story of Bellerophon and the Chimaera.

Bellerophon and Pegasus
Painting by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov.

Born the son of Glaucus, King of Corinth, Bellerophon was blessed with near physical perfection and the “fine gallant traits that go with men”. Yet he was of a cursed line. For his grandfather was Sisyphus, a proud man whose everlasting punishment in Tartarus is legendary (see the full story in a later post, here). One tragic day, Bellerophon ‘s actions resulted in the accidental death of his own brother Deliades, and he was forced into exile. A broken man, Bellerophon arrived in the court of King Proetus of Argos (who incidentally was the brother of Acrisius, the man who would shape the destiny of Perseus – for his story, click here). Taking pity on the fair youth before him, Proetus used his virtue of kingship to expiate Bellerophon of his crime. Unfortunately for the hero, Proetus’ wife Queen Antea soon took more than an honourable liking to Bellerophon. She tried many a trick to seduce him, yet the hero’s will stood firm. Angered, Antea plotted against him. With malice in her eye, she came before Proetus and deceived him thus, “I wish you’d die, Proetus, if you don’t kill Bellerophon! He’s bent on dragging me down with him in lust though I fight him all the way”.

Tricked by Antea’s falsehoods, Proetus seethed with rage. He stopped short of striking Bellerophon down there and then, but conceived a stratagem to see to his end. He sent Bellerophon to deliver a sealed letter to King Iobates of Lycia (the area of southern Asia Minor). Little did the hero know that Iobates was in fact Antea’s father, and that the letter contained word that Bellerophon had attempted to ravish his daughter. So off he went to Lycia, where he was entertained by Iobates in his court for nine days and nights. The King was impressed with the man’s bearing and showered many gifts upon him. On the tenth day, Iobates inquired into the reason for Bellerophon’s coming, and the hero handed the King the letter. Iobates was stunned, and could not believe what he was reading. Torn between his duty to his guest and his daughter, he resolved to set Bellerophon a task which he would almost certainly not survive. He therefore ordered him to slay the Chimaera.

The Chimaera
Etruscan bronze dated to the 5th century BC, found in Arezzo.

“ Grim monster sprung of the gods, nothing human,

All lion in front, all snake behind, all goat between,

Terrible, blasting lethal fire at every breath! ”

                   - THE CHIMAERA

One of the most terrible of all the offspring of the fearsome Typhon and Echidna (For more about Typhon, see the very first post on this site here), the Chimaera was a formidable monster. It had inherited its father’s volcanic flames, and breathed fire hot enough to undo metal, earth and rock. To see the Chimaera was an omen of impending doom and natural disaster, and the monster was a plague upon the earth, devastating the land of Lycia and preying upon its people and cattle. Seeing that he would almost certainly be killed if he faced the creature alone, the goddess Athena resolved to come to Bellerophon’s aid. Athena put strength in his heart, and offered to him the bridle to tame the winged horse Pegasus (which had sprung from the blood of Medusa, whose story is here). Mounting his admirable steed, Bellerophon flew to meet his foe. Even upon noble Pegasus, brave Bellerophon struggled to get anywhere near the Chimaera. For whenever he sought to lunge upon the beast and run it through with his lance, the monster would spit forth an inferno. But suddenly, Bellerophon was possessed of an idea. He mounted upon his lance a block of lead and flew as hard and as far as he could at the Chimaera. Just before he would be immolated, he managed to drive the block of lead in the creature’s gullet. The Chimaera snarled and belched forth its fiery breath. But the intense heat was turned upon its creator, melting the block and choking the monster.

Bellerophon slays the Chimaera
Painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

When Bellerophon returned to the court of Iobates, the King could scarcely believe his eyes as he welcomed the hero back. Many times would Bellerophon ride against the enemies of Lycia, winning countless victories off the back of his airborne mount, his fame spreading with his triumphs. In one last effort to honour the letter which brought Bellerophon to his shores, Iobates handpicked the finest men in Lycia and ordered them to ambush the young hero as he returned one day. Fearless Bellerophon, however, killed them all.  A god’s hand was at work, the King thought to himself, and at last he embraced the man as an honoured friend. The Lycians gave to him a grand estate, and the King his daughter’s hand.

Soon, the darker side of the successful human psyche reared its head. As his name grew legendary, his grandfather’s traits began to show in young Bellerophon. His pride grew and arrogance in its wake. Soon, he believed himself worthy to set foot upon Olympus itself, and he goaded Pegasus to bear him to the immortal peak. Enraged, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Bellerophon’s mount. Pegasus writhed in agony, and hurled the hero from its back. Landing in a thorn bush, blinded and made lame, Bellerophon lived out the rest of his days homeless and shunned by man, a living warning of what befell those who abused the gifts of the gods.

A classic tale of heroes, gods and monsters, the story of Bellerophon and the Chimaera is a potent tale even thousands of years after its time, the subject of many Renaissance paintings and childhood stories. The word 'Chimaera' itself has entered the English language, meaning 'hybrid' or 'fantasy', and it has even entered the language of science, being the technical term for an organism which contains the genetic material from more than one source. The story exists in many places in ancient lore, the two most substantial places being lsited below, easily available to any reader from Amazon:

United Kingdom

The Iliad:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A masterpiece of literature, and the cornerstone of all Western storytelling)

The Library of Greek Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(Less poetic, but contains a collection of many of the myths of Greece)

United States

The Iliad:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A masterpiece of literature, and the cornerstone of all Western storytelling)

The Library of Greek Mythology:
The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
(Less poetic, but contains a collection of many of the myths of Greece)