Bellerophon (episode)

***Miscellaneous Myths: Bellerophon*** is the fourth episode of the *Miscellaneous Myths* series by Red, as well as the fourth episode on Greek mythology. Its protagonist is the titular character, Bellerophon, a demigod son of Poseidon who fought and defeated the Chimera, but was undone by his own hubris.

## Summary

Bellerophon, or Bellerophontes is a stellar equestrian, courtesy of being Poseidon's son (Red notes that in actual Greek myth, being the child of a deity earns you minimal of your godly parent's powers). Bellerophon finds himself exiled after killing someone, sometimes his own brother, so he goes to King Proteus to be cleansed of his crime. Proteus' wife tries to seduce him, but her rejects her, so she goes to her husband and accuses Bellerophon of trying to seduce her. Proteus then sends Bellerophon to his father-in-law, King Iobates, to deliver him a message; said message is to kill Bellerophon.

Killing your guest is against the rules of hospitality, so Iobates, trying to find a way around it, tells Bellerophon to slay the Chimera that has been savaging his kingdom, hoping the monster will slay him. On his way, Bellerophon is advised by the seer Polyidus to go to the temple of Athena. Bellerophon takes a nap in there, and while he sleeps Athena drops a golden bridle next to him, and tells him where to find Pegasus, the flying horse that sprang along with his brother Chrysaor from Medusa's neck stump after Perseus decapitated her.

Bellerophon manages to tame Pegasus with Athena's bridle, and fly off to the Chimera's lair. The fire-breathing Chimera is inhumanly strong, and nothing Bellerophon throws at her can hurt her. So Bellerophon takes a large block of lead and sticks it to the end of his spear; when the Chimera is about to unleash fire at him again, he jams it down the Chimera's throat. Her fiery breath melts the lead, killing her.

Iobates then sends Bellerophon off to some other missions, hoping he will get killed off eventually, like fighting the Amazons or the Solymi tribe, but Bellerophon is victorious both times. Iobates then orders his guards to kill Bellerophon, but after a divine intervention from Poseidon and a bunch of naked women, he finally gives up, reasoning that a man this lucky must be a favourite of the gods. Iobates gives Bellerophon half his kingdom and his daughter's hand in marriage.

However, Bellerophon has a fatal flaw, his hubris, which ends up being his undoing. All the fame he gained started getting into his head, and in the end decided he deserved to live on Olympus among the other gods. He hops on Pegasus, aiming to reach the sky and the palaces of the gods, only for Zeus to send him a gadfly that stings Pegasus. The flying horse then throws his rider off his back, and Bellerophon falls back to the earth.

## Credits

In the credits, *Free Fallin'* by Tom Petty plays, while Red writes that in some versions Bellerophon survives the fall and lives the rest of his life as a cripple.

## Characters appearing

Bellerophon

Proteus (king)

Stheneboea

Iobates

Polyidus

Athena

Perseus

Medusa

Zeus

## Notes

1. ↑ Both translate to "slayer of Bellerus".
2. ↑ Compare to Phaedra doing the same to Hippolytus after he rejected her.