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Mythographia

    Source Verification: Pegasus

    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

    How was Pegasus born?

    Hesiod's Theogony has him spring fully formed from Medusa's neck the instant Perseus beheaded her, alongside a second child, the warrior Chrysaor. Both had already been conceived with Poseidon before Medusa's death and were released only at the moment of the beheading itself.

    Source: Hesiod, Theogony 280-283

    What did Pegasus do immediately after he was born?

    According to Hesiod, he flew away at once to the house of Zeus, where he settled permanently as the carrier of the god's thunder and lightning bolt, a role given to him directly in the Theogony with no hero or rider involved.

    Source: Hesiod, Theogony 284-286

    Did Pegasus really help Bellerophon kill the Chimera?

    Only in later sources. Homer's Iliad, the earliest surviving account of that fight, never mentions Pegasus at all. Apollodorus, writing much later, has Bellerophon mount the winged horse specifically to shoot the fire-breathing Chimera down from a height her flame could not reach.

    Source: Apollodorus, Library 2.3.2

    How did Bellerophon manage to tame and ride Pegasus?

    Pindar's Olympian Ode 13 credits Athena directly: Bellerophon prays to her for help with the wild horse, and she appears to him in a dream carrying a golden bridle, which lets him catch and ride Pegasus the following morning without any struggle at all.

    Source: Pindar, Olympian Ode 13

    What happened when Bellerophon tried to fly Pegasus up to Mount Olympus?

    Pindar's Isthmian Ode 7 records that Bellerophon attempted to reach the dwelling places of heaven itself and the company of Zeus, an overreach the gods would not allow. Pegasus threw his rider back down to earth, ending Bellerophon's ambitions while Pegasus himself continued on unharmed.

    Source: Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7

    Where Accounts Differ

    • whether Pegasus was part of the original Chimera myth
    • Homer's Iliad, the oldest surviving account of Bellerophon's fight with the Chimera, does not mention Pegasus at all; the flying horse is added only in later sources such as Pindar and Apollodorus.

    Sources

    Primary sources
    • Hesiod, Theogony 278-286
    • Pindar, Olympian Ode 13
    • Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1-2.3.2
    • Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7
    Further reading
    • Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth (1993)