Source Verification: Bellerophon and 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
Which Greek hero tamed Pegasus?
Bellerophon. In Pindar's Olympian Ode 13 he struggled to harness the winged horse beside a spring until Athena brought him a bridle with golden cheek-pieces in a dream. Homer's Iliad, the oldest account of his adventures, never mentions the horse. Hesiod names Pegasus beside Bellerophon as the Chimera's killers, and Apollodorus has him mount Pegasus for the fight.
Source: Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-92
What Greek god is associated with Pegasus?
Three gods touch the horse, each differently. Apollodorus calls Pegasus the offspring of Medusa and Poseidon, so Poseidon is his father. Athena brings the golden bridle that lets Bellerophon tame him in Pindar. Zeus is the horse's master in the end: Hesiod says Pegasus lives in his house and brings him thunder and lightning.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1-2.3.2
Who was Bellerophon in Greek mythology?
A hero from Ephyre, son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus in Homer. He was falsely accused by the wife of King Proetus and sent to Lycia with a tablet asking for his death. He survived every task the Lycian king set, from the Chimera to an ambush of the best Lycian warriors, and was rewarded with the king's daughter and half his honour.
Source: Homer, Iliad 6.155-170
Did Pegasus belong to Hercules?
No. The sources give Pegasus to no owner in Heracles's story. Hesiod says he flew to Zeus and brings him thunder, and names Pegasus and Bellerophon as the Chimera's slayers. Heracles appears in the same stretch of the Theogony, killing the Hydra with Iolaus, which may explain the mix-up. The horses Heracles handles in Apollodorus are the man-eating mares of Diomedes.
Source: Hesiod, Theogony 313-325
Where Accounts Differ
- pegasus-absent-from-homer
- taming-told-only-by-pindar
- pegasus-and-zeus-before-or-after-bellerophon
- bellerophons-end
- poseidon-as-father-or-ancestor
- anteia-or-stheneboea
- Pegasus is absent from Homer. Iliad 6.179-183 says Bellerophon slew the Chimaera trusting in the signs of the gods and names no horse or weapon. Hesiod, Theogony 319-325, names Pegasus beside him, Apollodorus, Library 2.3.2, has him shoot her down from the air, and Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-92, puts the whole campaign in the air.
- The taming of Pegasus is told only by Pindar among the works cited here. Olympian Ode 13.63-92 gives the golden bridle, the dream and the altar of Athena. Apollodorus, Library 2.3.2, has Bellerophon simply mount the horse, and Hesiod, Theogony 278-286, sends Pegasus to Zeus with no mention of a rider.
- Pegasus's place is given two ways. Hesiod, Theogony 281-286, has him fly to the house of Zeus straight from his birth and bring him thunder and lightning. Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-92, has him serve Bellerophon and only afterwards find shelter in the stables of Zeus on Olympus.
- Bellerophon's end is told two ways. Homer, Iliad 6.200-205, has the gods hate him and him wander alone over the Aleian plain, with no horse and no fall. Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7.44-47, has Pegasus throw him as he tries to reach the company of Zeus, and Olympian Ode 13.63-92 declines to tell his death.
- Whether Poseidon is Bellerophon's father is not settled by these sources. Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-92, has Athena tell him to show the bridle to his ancestor Poseidon the Horse-Tamer, as the Perseus English renders the word. Homer, Iliad 6.155, makes him the son of Glaucus, son of Sisyphus, and Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1, agrees.
- The names differ between Homer and Apollodorus. Homer calls the slandering queen Anteia and leaves the Lycian king and his daughter unnamed. Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1-2.3.2, calls the queen Stheneboea, the king Iobates and the daughter Philonoe.
Sources
- Homer, Iliad 6.155-170
- Homer, Iliad 6.171-190
- Homer, Iliad 6.191-205
- Hesiod, Theogony 278-286
- Hesiod, Theogony 313-325
- Pindar, Olympian Ode 13.63-92
- Pindar, Isthmian Ode 7.44-47
- Apollodorus, Library 2.3.1-2.3.2
- Apollodorus, Library 2.5.8