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Mythographia

    Source Verification: Bellerophon

    Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

    What the Sources Attest

    What monster did Bellerophon slay?

    The Chimera, a fire-breathing beast of Lycia. In Homer's Iliad, the Lycian king orders the killing as the first of several tasks meant to get Bellerophon killed. The same passage lists what came next: a battle with the Solymi then the Amazons, then an ambush of the best Lycian warriors. Bellerophon survived all four. Apollodorus's Library keeps the same order and names the king Iobates.

    Source: Homer, Iliad 6.178-190

    How did Bellerophon slay the Chimera?

    It depends on the source. Homer's Iliad names no horse and no weapon: Bellerophon killed her trusting in the signs of the gods. Hesiod's Theogony credits Pegasus and Bellerophon together. Pindar's Olympian Ode 13 has him attack from the air on Pegasus, armoured in bronze. Apollodorus's Library is the most specific. Mounted on Pegasus, Bellerophon soared up and shot the Chimera down from the height.

    Source: Apollodorus, Library 2.3.2

    Why did Zeus punish Bellerophon?

    Because he tried to ride up to the gods, in Pindar's telling. Isthmian Ode 7 says winged Pegasus threw his master when Bellerophon wanted to reach the dwellings of heaven and the company of Zeus. Pindar does not say Zeus struck him; the horse does it. Homer's Iliad gives no reason at all. It says only that Bellerophon came to be hated by all the gods and wandered alone over the Aleian plain.

    Source: Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7.44-47

    Was Bellerophon a demigod?

    Not in Homer's family tree, which makes him the grandson of Sisyphus, son of Aeolus. Yet the same passage of the Iliad says the Lycian king recognised him as the offspring of a god once he survived every task. Pindar goes further. In Olympian Ode 13, Athena tells him to show the bridle to Poseidon the Tamer, whom the Greek calls his father. The English translation on Perseus softens this to ancestor.

    Source: Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-90

    Did Bellerophon have a wife?

    Yes, the daughter of the Lycian king who had tried to kill him. Homer's Iliad does not name her, but says she bore him three children: Isander, Hippolochus and Laodameia. Laodameia became the mother of Sarpedon by Zeus. Apollodorus's Library names the wife Philonoe, daughter of Iobates. Hyginus's Fabulae calls her the other daughter of the king, and says her sister Stheneboea killed herself on hearing of the marriage.

    Source: Homer, Iliad 6.191-199

    Who is the father of Bellerophon?

    Homer's Iliad names Glaucus, son of Sisyphus of Ephyre. Apollodorus's Library gives the same line: Bellerophon, son of Glaucus, son of Sisyphus. Pindar's Olympian Ode 13 points to a divine father instead. Athena there calls Poseidon the Tamer his father, in the Greek, and tells him to sacrifice a bull to the god. The two claims sit side by side in the sources without either one being withdrawn.

    Source: Homer, Iliad 6.152-155

    Where Accounts Differ

    • who was Bellerophon's father
    • Anteia or Stheneboea
    • how Bellerophon killed the Chimera
    • how Bellerophon's life ended
    • the names of the Lycian king and his daughter
    • Bellerophon's father is given two ways. Homer (Iliad 6.152-155) and Apollodorus (Library 2.3.1) make him the son of Glaucus, son of Sisyphus. Pindar (Olympian Ode 13.63-90) has Athena call Poseidon his father; the Greek word is father, which the Perseus English translation renders as ancestor.
    • The queen who accuses him is Anteia in Homer (Iliad 6.160). Apollodorus (Library 2.3.1) and Hyginus's Fabulae 57 call her Stheneboea, and Hyginus's Astronomica gives both names. Euripides titled one of his lost tragedies Stheneboea.
    • How the Chimera died differs by source. Homer (Iliad 6.178-183) mentions no horse or weapon. Hesiod (Theogony 319-325) names Pegasus beside Bellerophon, Pindar (Olympian Ode 13.63-90) has him fight from the air, and Apollodorus (Library 2.3.2) has him shoot her down from Pegasus's back.
    • His end is told three ways. Homer (Iliad 6.200-205) has him hated by the gods and wandering alone over the Aleian plain, with no reason given. Pindar (Isthmian Ode 7.44-47) has Pegasus throw him as he tries to reach Zeus. Hyginus's Fabulae 57 has him fall on the Aleian plain and dislocate his hip, and the Astronomica has him fall from fear while flying toward the sky.
    • The Lycian king and the wife he gives Bellerophon are unnamed in Homer. Apollodorus (Library 2.3.1-2.3.2) calls the king Iobates and the wife Philonoe; Hyginus's Fabulae 57 says only that she was Stheneboea's sister.

    Sources

    Primary sources
    • Homer, Iliad 6.152-155
    • Homer, Iliad 6.156-170
    • Homer, Iliad 6.171-190
    • Homer, Iliad 6.178-190
    • Homer, Iliad 6.191-199
    • Homer, Iliad 6.200-205
    • Homer, Iliad 6.215-221
    • Hesiod, Theogony 319-325
    • Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-90
    • Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.91-92
    • Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7.44-47
    • Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1
    • Apollodorus, Library 2.3.2
    • Hyginus, Fabulae 57