Bellerophon

Bellerophon, or Bellerophontes, is a mythological hero who appears in several ancient Greek literary works, including the famous Homeric epic The Iliad, the poet Hesiod's Theogony, and a lost tragedy by the playwright Euripides. According to The Iliad, Bellerophon was born in the city-state of Corinth to King Glaucus and his wife, Eurynome. Other authors, including Hesiod, claim the Greek sea god Poseidon as Bellerophon's father while maintaining Eurynome as his mortal mother. In either case, Bellerophon's story is often cited as a cautionary tale highlighting the value of propriety in one's relationship with the gods. During his youth, Bellerophon honored the gods and won their favor. Later in his life, he was overtaken by pride and arrogance, leading to his fall from the gods' good graces.

Background

Bellerophon's myth first appears as an embedded narrative in The Iliad, an epic poem composed by Homer. The Iliad is set during the mythic Trojan War. While the work covers the events leading up to the outbreak of the legendary conflict, the poem focuses specifically on the quarrel between King Agamemnon and the stubborn but fearsome warrior Achilles. The Iliad is widely considered one of the most important surviving examples of ancient Greek literature.

Homer's iteration of the Bellerophon myth is embedded in the text of The Iliad, and it is related by Bellerophon's great-grandson, Glaucus. Bellerophon's tale begins when the Greek hero Diomedes asks Glaucus about his lineage. Glaucus replies that he is named after Bellerophon's mortal father, King Glaucus of Corinth. However, the poet Hesiod suggests that Poseidon, the god of the sea, fathered Bellerophon. Hesiod's account of Bellerophon is found in the Theogony, a poem composed between the eighth and seventh centuries Before the Common Era (BCE). In the Theogony, Bellerophon battles the Chimera, a mythical beast, and tames the Pegasus, a legendary winged horse.

Bellerophon is the only hero in the Homeric epic tradition who is said to have originated from the city-state of Corinth. He is also associated with the iconic Corinthian fountain of Peirene, where he was able to capture the Pegasus. Beyond its prevalence in Greek myth, the Peirene fountain is also mentioned in Hellenistic and Roman works.

Euripides, an Athenian playwright, wrote a lost tragedy titled Bellerophontes, which scholars believe to be related to the tragic outcome of Bellerophon's failed attempt to live in harmony with the gods at Mount Olympus. Although only fragments of the play remain, a famous surviving passage shows Bellerophon questioning the validity of the gods. Bellerophon is particularly concerned with the inequalities between the wicked, who enjoy lives of luxury and indulgence, and the pious, who live in poverty and suffer hardships. Historians have suggested that the playwright Aristophanes, who accused Euripides of atheism, later cited this passage.

Overview

Bellerophon's tale, as it is typically presented in contemporary times, has been cobbled together from Homer's The Iliad, Hesiod's Theogony, and the surviving fragments of Euripides's tragedy. The Bellerophon myth begins with a murder, though the victim of the murder is unclear. Differing sources name Bellerophon's brother, Deliades, as the slain man, while others name Belleros, an infamous villain, as the victim. In The Iliad, Bellerophon is said to have traveled to Tiryns, where he asks King Proetus to forgive him for his crime. During Bellerophon's stay, King Proetus's wife accuses Bellerophon of attempting to rape her, prompting Proetus to send Bellerophon to Lycia, which is ruled by Proetus's father-in-law, King Iobates. The Lycian king initially balks at Proetus's request to kill Bellerophon, believing the gods would punish him for murdering a guest. After learning of the rape accusation, Iobates dispatches Bellerophon to battle the mythical Chimera, assuming the seemingly impossible quest will result in Bellerophon's death.

Bellerophon then contacts a local seer named Polyeidos, who tells him that he must find and tame the Pegasus to kill the Chimera. Bellerophon then travels to his hometown of Corinth, where he finds and tames the divine winged stallion at the fountain of Peirene. He then rides the Pegasus to the Lycian lands where the Chimera lives.

Hesiod relates Bellerophon's improbable victory against the fire-breathing Chimera in the Theogony. Bellerophon's triumph against the formidable beast is the source of the hero's swelling pride and the start of his eventual downfall. Bellerophon presumes that he will be permitted to join the gods and live among them at Mount Olympus, which angers Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus sends a gadfly to sting the Pegasus, unsaddling Bellerophon and causing him to tumble back to Earth. Bellerophon lands in a thorn bush and suffers extensive injuries, forcing him to live the remainder of his life as a blind and disabled hermit.

Bellerophon's battle with the monstrous Chimera is among the earliest known legends to be represented in ancient Greek art. Although the origin of the image of the Chimera itself is not known, Homer provides a brief sketch of the beast in The Iliad, describing it as the fire-breathing hybrid of a lion, goat, and serpent. This image of the Chimera, along with a spear-wielding Bellerophon and the winged Pegasus, is found in ancient vase paintings, pebble mosaics, and marble statues.

During the Middle Ages, Bellerophon's courageous victories were attributed to a more well-known Greek hero, Perseus. Experts believe the switch took place because both Bellerophon and Perseus were known as monster slayers, which caused their tales to become intertwined and conflated. Perseus was also associated with the Pegasus, which may have contributed to the myths of the two heroes blending, with the more popular Perseus eventually taking on Bellerophon's role. Perseus's defeat of the Chimera was later embraced and widely accepted by European poets, who inserted Perseus in Bellerophon's place in works dating to the Renaissance and beyond.

Bellerophon has also made appearances in contemporary popular culture. The character appeared in the television show Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) and also appears in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes (2015), a retelling of Greek mythology for a young adult audience. Bellerophon is also the protagonist of Cathleen Townsend's 2019 novel Bellerophon: Son of Poseidon. The myth of Bellerophon also lived on through references to Pegasus and Chimera, often more referenced in popular culture than Bellerophon himself. 

Bibliography

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“Bellerophon - Myths.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Bellerophon/bellerophon.html. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

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Ziskowski, Angela. "The Bellerophon Myth in Early Corinthian History and Art." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, vol. 83, no. 1, 2014, pp. 81–102.