The myth of Pegasus and the chimera - Iseult Gillespie
Shielded from the gorgon’s
stone-cold gaze,
Perseus crept through Medusa’s cave.
When he reached her,
he took a deep breath,
and in one sudden movement,
drew his sickle
and brought it down on her neck.
Medusa’s head rolled to the ground
and from her neck sprung two children.
One of them was Chrysaor,
a giant wielding a golden sword;
The other was the magnificent,
white, winged horse, Pegasus.
He was swifter than any other steed,
and with the stomp of his hooves,
he could alter mountains
and draw streams from dry rock.
No bridle could contain him—
until one fateful day.
Bellerophon, prince
of the Greek city-state of Corinth,
seemed to have it all.
But his ambitions
exceeded his earthly circumstances.
What he truly wanted was
to be a hero so great
that the gods would welcome him
on Mount Olympus.
Bellerophon believed that Pegasus would be
key in helping him reach such heights.
One night,
he visited the temple of Athena,
the goddess of war and wisdom,
and prayed for the power
to appease the mighty animal.
When Bellerophon woke,
he found a magical golden bridle,
and sped to the fountain
that Pegasus drank from.
As soon as the horse bent
towards the water,
Bellerophon jumped on his back
and slipped the bridle on.
Finally, Pegasus was subdued.
With this conquest, Bellerophon felt
that he was on his way to becoming
a legendary hero.
He trained for battle day and night.
But one training session
went horribly wrong,
and Bellerophon mortally injured
his brother, Deliades.
Disgraced, he was exiled to Argos,
where King Proetus purified him.
Bellerophon was resolved
to repair his reputation,
but the Queen of Argos had her eye on him.
And when Bellerophon rebuffed
her advances,
she accused him of trying to seduce her,
further tarnishing his honor.
King Proetus soon devised
a plan to exact revenge.
He banished Bellerophon and Pegasus
and sent them to the kingdom of Lycia,
carrying a note to Iobates, Lycia’s king.
But unbeknownst to Bellerophon, he was
carrying a decree for his own death.
Iobates considered how to dispose
of the youth
and picked just the right monster
for the job:
the fire-breathing lion-goat-dragon
Chimera
that had long been
terrorizing his kingdom.
Bellerophon— eager to achieve greatness—
jumped at the challenge.
He mounted Pegasus,
and the two shot into the sky.
Swooping above the earth, they saw the
Chimera surrounded by its charred victims.
Soon, they too were facing its firepower.
In a sequence of agile aerial acrobatics,
Pegasus dodged every blast
from the Chimera
as Bellerophon launched his arrows.
Finally, Pegasus closed in on the beast
at just the right angle,
and Bellerophon dealt it a deadly blow.
Iobates was incredulous.
He was glad to be rid of the monster,
but still needed to deal with Bellerophon.
So, he set forth more challenges,
putting Bellerophon up against
fearsome warriors, highly skilled archers,
and, ultimately,
Lycia’s best soldiers.
Every time, Pegasus’ power turned the tide
in Bellerophon’s favor.
Finally, Iobates had no choice
but to concede
that Bellerophon was a true hero.
He even offered him
his daughter’s hand in marriage.
But Bellerophon’s sights were set far
beyond the land of mortals.
He was certain he must now be entitled
to a place on Mount Olympus.
So, he jumped onto Pegasus
and urged him higher and higher.
Zeus watched as Bellerophon,
buoyed by hubris,
neared his palace.
To punish the youth,
he released a single gadfly,
which beelined towards Pegasus
and bit into his flesh.
This was as high
as Bellerophon would ever get.
As Pegasus flinched,
he flung his rider into the air,
and Bellerophon fell careening
back to Earth.
Pegasus, on the other hand,
ascended with Zeus’s blessing.
The gods welcomed him into the halls
of Mount Olympus
and immortalized him in a constellation.
There in the night sky,
Pegasus can be seen soaring,
unfettered and free.
