B is for Bellerophontes

Taken from here
Bellerophontes was a great lover of adventure, and while searching for it he met Proteus, whom he believed to be a friend. Proteus was jealous of Bellerophontes, and sent him to his father-in-law, the King of Lycia, along with a sealed letter asking him to kill him.
The King decided to ask Bellerophontes to kill the Chimera, a monster with the head of a lion and the tail of a dragon, that was terrorising their village at night, knowing that he would not survive the task. Bellerophontes, eager for adventure, was excited at this, and went to a wise man for some advice. This man told him that he would need the help of the winged horse Pegasus, and told him to spend the night in the temple of the goddess Athena, offering gifts in exchange for her help.
Athena came to his dreams with a golden bridle, and showed Bellerophontes the location of the well that Pegasus drank from. When he awoke, the golden bridle was laid beside him.
Bellerophontes went to the well and captured Pegasus, and they worked together to kill the Chimera. Bellerophontes was awarded the King's daughter as a wife for completing his task, and succeeded the King after his death.
However, Bellerophontes was restless, and craved more adventure. He decided to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus, to visit the gods. Furious at his greed, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus, who threw his rider, causing him to fall to the ground.
Bellerophontes spent the rest of his life crippled and alone, searching for the steed he lost because of his own greed, while Pegasus lived out his life on Mount Olympus, loyal to Zeus.

Comments

  1. Aww such a sad ending!

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  2. Wow, I haven't read any mythology for years...this is interesting. Here from the A to Z!! Enjoy it!

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  3. I'm really liking this re-introduction to mythology.

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  4. The Gods didn't always play nice.

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  5. Hi, Laur,

    Whatcha great story. I really enjoy Greek mythology and this is one story I had never read. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Very interesting--didn't know about this one. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  7. I guess he pushed hos luck too far.

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  8. I love Greek mythology! I've studied it high school and I still love it! Do you know that there is a Japanese manga that speak of that? http://www.divertimento.it/fnts/divertimento/immagini/330x230/cover_pollon_1-11357829.JPG

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  9. Another great post Laura! I'm gonna love this month!
    Dani @ Entertaining Interests
    #warriorminion

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  10. Wow! I've never encountered this figured before, but I love all the stories involving Pegasus. Thanks for another great tale!

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  11. So many of the stories of the gods show how they cruelly kept humans in their place. Thanks for sharing this.

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  12. And that right there was a good lesson. Greed can really destroy the best of us. Loving your theme ;)

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  13. I've never heard of this character...I've heard of Proteus, but not Bellerophontes.

    Great (and informative) post!

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  14. Dang, Olympians, why you gotta be so nasty?

    Lesson of the day; don't ever think the gods will like you. They don't :)

    Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom
    www.mithrilwisdom.com

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  15. Love mythology, but crippling the man for wanting to see Olympus -- excessive, unless his greed showed elsewhere in the stories, but not here.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  16. I remember reading this or hearing about it and loving it Laura, it's such an interesting story.

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  17. Moody bunch those gods you can see why they fell out of favour . . . . .

    Well done again C U at C

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  18. Those Gods always are a bit much, aren't they? I hadn't heard this story before. Looking forward to more :)

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  19. Wow! Great story. I'm learning a ton of new B words today - I didn't expect to see so much "off the wall" creation for the letter B. Enjoy the challenge, and please feel free to stop by http://www.deborahdera.com to see if I manage to keep up with this, too! :)

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  20. God, I love mythology! it has so many life lessons, so much potential to be used in writing nowadays...

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  21. Greek mythology is so interesting! Love this post and looking forward to more.

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  22. I'd never heard this story before. Such a sad ending.

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  23. What a great idea posting on this subject. Looking forward to reading more.

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  24. Hi from the A-Z Challenge! I love how in mythology everyone always gets what's coming to them. ;)

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  25. I loved Pegasus when I was a kid. Who can resist a beautiful flying horse, I ask you?

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  26. Puts you right into their mystical world. I also used to love Pegasus, and had a dream once of a flying horse that flew in through my bedroom window, fluttering around like a bird. It was so colorful and great.

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  27. I've been learning all day and I love it! This was a great story and a very creative take on the letter B. Great post!

    Karen

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  28. Love your theme for the A to Z challenge. I've always been fascinated by mythology of all kinds, so I'll definitely be back to learn. :)

    Thanks for doing this.

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  29. Aww, poor little Pegasus getting stung like that! Great story.

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  30. Part of that story reminds me of the original Clash of the Titans.

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  31. I'm going to learn so much from your posts this month. ;)

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  32. I'm also enjoying the re-introduction to mythology. There's so much cruelty, but the stories are very precise about human nature on a grand scale.

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  33. That Zeus was definitely cruel. I love learning from your posts!

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  34. Awesome! I am so going to enjoy following this blog! Thanks!

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  35. I love coming here for my daily dose of mythology. Keep it coming!

    Jessica @ Visions of Other Worlds
    Twitter: @jmarcarelli, #atozchallenge

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  36. Loved reading your mythology post :) I haven't read any of my Bulfinch's in a long while. I had forgotten how neat it is :)

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