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PEGASUS AND THE CHIMAERA
When Perseus cut off Medusa's head, the blood sinking into the
earth produced the winged horse Pegasus. Minerva caught him and
tamed him and presented him to the Muses. The fountain Hippocrene,
on the Muses' mountain Helicon, was opened by a kick from his
hoof.
The Chimaera was a fearful monster, breathing fire. The fore part
of its body was a compound of the lion and the goat, and the hind
part a dragon's. It made great havoc in Lycia, so that the king,
Iobates, sought for some hero to destroy it. At that time there
arrived at his court a gallant young warrior, whose name was
Bellerophon. He brought letters from Proetus, the son-in-law of
Iobates, recommending Bellerophon in the warmest terms as an
unconquerable hero, but added at the close a request to his
father-in-law to put him to death. The reason was that Proetus was
jealous of him, suspecting that his wife Antea looked with too
much admiration on the young warrior. From this instance of
Bellerophon being unconsciously the bearer of his own death
warrant, the expression "Bellerophontic letters" arose, to
describe any species of communication which a person is made the
bearer of, containing matter prejudicial to himself.
Iobates, on perusing the letters, was puzzled what to do, not
willing to violate the claims of hospitality, yet wishing to
oblige his son-in-law. A lucky thought occurred to him, to send
Bellerophon to combat with the Chimaera. Bellerophon accepted the
proposal, but before proceeding to the combat consulted the
soothsayer Polyidus, who advised him to procure if possible the
horse Pegasus for the conflict. For this purpose he directed him
to pass the night in the temple of Minerva. He did so, and as he
slept Minerva came to him and gave him a golden bridle. When he
awoke the bridle remained in his hand. Minerva also showed him
Pegasus drinking at the well of Pirene, and at sight of the bridle
the winged steed came willingly and suffered himself to be taken.
Bellerophon mounted him, rose with him into the air, soon found
the Chimaera, and gained an easy victory over the monster.
After the conquest of the Chimaera Bellerophon was exposed to
further trials and labors by his unfriendly host, but by the aid
of Pegasus he triumphed in them all, till at length Iobates,
seeing that the hero was a special favorite of the gods, gave him
his daughter in marriage and made him his successor on the throne.
At last Bellerophon by his pride and presumption drew upon himself
the anger of the gods; it is said he even attempted to fly up into
heaven on his winged steed, but Jupiter sent a gadfly which stung
Pegasus and made him throw his rider, who became lame and blind in
consequence. After this Bellerophon wandered lonely through the
Aleian field, avoiding the paths of men, and died miserably.
Milton alludes to Bellerophon in the beginning of the seventh book
of "Paradise Lost":
"Descend from Heaven, Urania, by that name
If rightly thou art called, whose voice divine
Following above the Olympian hill I soar,
Above the flight of Pegasean wing
Into the Heaven of Heavens I have presumed,
An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air
(Thy tempering); with like safety guided down
Return me to my native element;
Lest from this flying steed unreined (as once
Bellerophon, though from a lower sphere),
Dismounted on the Aleian field I fall,
Erroneous there to wander and forlorn."
Young, in his "Night Thoughts," speaking of the sceptic, says:
"He whose blind thought futurity denies,
Unconscious bears, Bellerophon, like thee
His own indictment, he condemns himself.
Who reads his bosom reads immortal life,
Or nature there, imposing on her sons,
Has written fables; man was made a lie."
Vol II, p 12
Pegasus, being the horse of the Muses, has always been at the
service of the poets. Schiller tells a pretty story of his having
been sold by a needy poet and put to the cart and the plough. He
was not fit for such service, and his clownish master could make
nothing of him But a youth stepped forth and asked leave to try
him As soon as he was seated on his back the horse, which had
appeared at first vicious, and afterwards spirit-broken, rose
kingly, a spirit, a god, unfolded the splendor of his wings, and
soared towards heaven. Our own poet Longfellow also records an
adventure of this famous steed in his "Pegasus in Pound."
Shakspeare alludes to Pegasus in "Henry IV.," where Vernon
describes Prince Henry:
"I saw young Harry, with his beaver on,
His cuishes on his thighs, gallantly armed,
Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury,
And vaulted with such ease into his seat,
As if an angel dropped down from the clouds,
To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus,
And witch the world with noble horsemanship"
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