Bellerophon.
Bellerophon · Corinthian hero
The hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus — and whose pride brought him crashing down from the sky.
Son of Glaucus (or Poseidon). Tamer of Pegasus, slayer of the Chimera. The horse he rode is the constellation Pegasus.
Bellerophon · Bellerophon · Corinthian hero
Son of Glaucus (or Poseidon). Tamer of Pegasus, slayer of the Chimera. The horse he rode is the constellation Pegasus.
Bellerophon was a Corinthian prince, son of Glaucus (or Poseidon). After accidentally killing his brother he sought purification at the court of King Proetus. The queen, refused by Bellerophon, accused him falsely; Proetus, unwilling to kill a guest, sent him to his father-in-law in Lycia with a sealed letter requesting the bearer's death.
The Lycian king set him an impossible task: kill the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a serpent for a tail. Bellerophon caught and tamed the winged horse Pegasus — sprung from Medusa's blood — at a sacred spring with a golden bridle from Athena. From the air he drove a leaden spear into the Chimera's mouth; the creature's own breath melted the lead and choked it.
"From the back of Pegasus, Bellerophon drove a leaden spear into the Chimera's throat, and the creature's own fire melted the lead and choked it."
Pride was his ruin. Having killed the Chimera and survived several other tasks, Bellerophon attempted to ride Pegasus up to Olympus itself, to take his place among the gods. Zeus sent a gadfly which stung Pegasus; the horse threw his rider back to earth. Pegasus continued on alone, was stabled in the heavens, and became the constellation. Bellerophon survived the fall but lived out his years lame, blind, and shunned by men.
Where this comes from.
Mythology
- Homer Iliad 6.155–202
- Hesiod Theogony 325
- Apollodorus Bibliotheca 2.3.1–2.3.2
Paintings & illustrations
- Bellerophon on Pegasus — Attic black-figure cup, attributed to the BMN Painter (c. 575–525 BCE) · Wikimedia · PD
- Bellerophon, Pegasus, and the Chimera (Olynthus mosaic) — Greek mosaicist, Olynthus (4th c. BCE) · Wikimedia · PD
- Pegasus and Equuleus (Urania's Mirror) — Sidney Hall (engraver), Jehoshaphat Aspin (text) (1825) · Wikimedia · PD
For fun · sources cited. We don’t publish horoscopes, personality readings, or compatibility takes — just astronomy + classical mythology, with public-domain art where available. See all 88 constellations.