Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English
(University of Rizal System)
reporting in EL 111- Mythology and Folklore
Submitted to: Dr. Stephen P. Soliguen
Story credits to : https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-pegasus-bellerophontes/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pegasus-Greek-mythology
6. Bellerophon was the son
of Poseidon and Eurynome, wife of Glaucus. He was
raised by Glaucus who thought Bellerophon was his
own son. Considering that
both Poseidon and Glaucus were interested in horses,
it is not surprising that Bellerophon quested
7. Following Polyeidus' instructions, he spent the night in a
temple of Athena. There, he had a dream that the goddess
offered him a magical, golden bridle. He awoke and found the
bridle he dreamt about in his hands. He sensibly made a
sacrifice to both Athena and Poseidon. Afterwards, he went to
the meadow Pegasus was grazing at, and was able to bridle
and tame the horse without difficulty. Triumphant in his
success, he went to King Pittheus and received permission to
marry his daughter Aethra. However, before the marriage, he
8. He went to King Proetus to be excused for his crime.
The king pardoned him, but during his stay
at Proetus's house, the King's wife, Stheneboea,
attempted to seduce him. As an honorable
man Bellerophon rejected her advances. This
infuriated Stheneboea who then falsely accused him
9. Greatly upset, Proetus wanted to be rid
of Bellerophon without having to accuse him publicly.
He was also concerned about harming a house guest,
as this was an offence to the gods. So, he
sent Bellerophon to deliver a sealed message to his
10. Arriving on Pegasus, Bellerophon was warmly received
and settled in as Iobates' house guest. Iobates unsealed
and read the message thus learning of Stheneboea's
accusations against Bellerophon. This left Iobates in the
same predicament of acting against a guest that had
troubled Proetus.
11. Lobates solution was to ask Bellerophon to undertake a series of
heroic, but deadly tasks. However, Bellerophon's courage and
skill as an archer, combined with Pegasus' help, allowed him to
prevail. In addition, his parentage, his sacrifices, and his acts of
honour gave him the favour of the gods. His first task was to kill
the terrible Chimaera. Succeeding, he was sent to conquer the
neighbouring Solymi tribe, which was Iobates' traditional enemy.
When he defeated them, the King sent him to fight the Amazons.
He was again victorious. In desperation, Iobates led an ambush
against Bellerophon using his entire army; the army was killed to
12. At this point, Iobates had the wisdom to notice that
something was very wrong. He realized that the gods
favoured Bellerophon and that this favor would not have
been given to a dishonorable house
guest. Iobates succeed in making amends by
giving Bellerophon half his kingdom, including the best
13. There are two stories concerning the fate of Stheneboea.
One says that Bellerophon extracted revenge by taking her
for a ride on Pegasus, then shoving her off to fall to her
death. In the other version, Stheneboea hears
that Bellerophon has married her sister. She knows that this
14. It appeared that Bellerophon would live happily ever
after. His glorious deeds were widely sung. He was
happily married. Philonoe bore him two sons, Isander
and Hippolochus, and two daughters, Laodameia and
Deidameia. As a king his subjects loved and honored
15. However, this was not enough for Bellerophon. In his
arrogance, he decided that he could
ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus and visit the
gods. Zeus quickly put an end to his trip by sending the
gadfly to sting Pegasus and dismount Bellerophon. He
survived his fall, but was crippled. He spent the rest of his
life wandering the earth. No man would help him