Bellerophon
The hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and used him to slay the monstrous Chimera. His story is a cautionary tale about hubris.
The Legend of Bellerophon
Prince of Corinth and grandson of Sisyphus, Bellerophon was falsely accused by Queen Anteia and sent by King Iobates to die. Athena helped him tame the winged horse Pegasus at a spring near Corinth. With Pegasus he slew the Chimera — a lion-goat-serpent hybrid — routed the Amazons, and defeated the Solymi. Emboldened, he tried to fly to Olympus, but Zeus sent a gadfly that unseated him. He wandered alone, lame and shunned. His rise and fall echo Icarus and Phaethon — mortals destroyed by overreaching toward the realm of the gods.
Parents
Poseidon and Eurynome
Children
Isander, Hippolochus, Laodamia
Symbols
Fun Fact
Bellerophon's story is one of Greek mythology's clearest warnings against hubris — the arrogance of reaching beyond mortal limits.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.
Bellerophon and Pegasus
🗡 herohubris, fall
The hero who tamed Pegasus and slew the Chimera but was destroyed by his own hubris when he tried to fly to Olympus.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts, seeker of the Golden Fleece
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's story is one of ambition, adventure, and tragic betrayal.
Pegasus
🐉 creatureFlight, heroism
Winged divine horse born from the blood of Medusa who carried Bellerophon against the Chimaera
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, aided by Medea's sorcery.
Adrastus
🗡 heroKing who led the Seven Against Thebes
Adrastus was the only survivor of the Seven Against Thebes — he escaped on his divine horse Arion and later led the Epigoni to avenge their fathers.
Pentheus
🗡 herohubris
King of Thebes who denied Dionysus's divinity and was torn apart by his own mother and aunts in a Bacchic frenzy.
Glaucus of Corinth
🗡 heroHorses, Hybris, Divine Punishment
Corinthian king and charioteer who fed his mares on human flesh; they devoured him during the funeral games of Pelias.
Odysseus
🗡 heroMan of many wiles
Odysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose intelligence rather than strength defined a new kind of heroism.
Perseus
🗡 heroHero who slew Medusa
The son of Zeus and Danae who beheaded Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the Perseid dynasty of Mycenae.
Sarpédon
🗡 heroSon of Zeus who died at Troy
Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and the greatest Lycian warrior at Troy — his death forced Zeus to confront the limits of even divine power.
Laocoon
🗡 heroTrojan priest who warned against the horse
Laocoon was the Trojan priest who tried to warn Troy about the Wooden Horse — "I fear Greeks even bearing gifts" — and was killed by sea serpents sent by the gods.