The Chimaera - Bellerophon and Pegasus

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

For myth-lovers, it’s thrilling but best read with a calm framing: bravery is good, arrogance is risky. End on the steady message that heroes are strongest when they stay humble.

Story Synopsis

Bellerophon begins as a talented young warrior with a troubled reputation. Fate leads him to a king who sends him on an impossible mission: defeat the Chimera, a monstrous creature said to be part lion, part goat, part serpent, breathing fire and terrorizing the land. The assignment is meant to destroy him. But Bellerophon receives help that changes everything. Through guidance and divine favor, he gains Pegasus, the winged horse. Riding above danger, Bellerophon can finally face a foe that no one on the ground can approach safely. The battle is intense: fire, speed, and the dizzying reality of fighting a myth. With courage and clever strategy, Bellerophon defeats the Chimera and becomes celebrated. Yet Greek myths rarely end with simple victory. As honor grows, pride creeps in. Bellerophon begins to believe he deserves more than human life—more glory, more height, more power. In some tellings, he attempts to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus itself, as if a mortal could claim the gods’ place. The attempt ends in disaster. Bellerophon falls, humbled by the limits of being human. Pegasus, however, remains a symbol of the sky—beauty, freedom, and the thin line between aspiration and arrogance. This myth holds two truths at once: courage can defeat monsters, and humility is what keeps a hero steady afterward.

Story Excerpt

Once, in the old, old days of Greece, a clear fountain sprang from a hillside and ran laughing down over sand and stones. The sun was low and golden when a handsome young man named Bellerophon came to its edge. In his hand he carried a bridle set with bright gems and a shining golden bit. Near the water stood an old man leaning on a staff, a country fellow with a cow, a little boy with rosy cheeks, and a maiden with a pitcher. Bellerophon bowed politely. “ May I drink? ” “ Of course, ” said the maiden. He drank, and the water tasted cool and sweet. Then he rinsed and filled the maiden’s pitcher with care. “ This is delicious, ” he said. “ Will you tell me — does this fountain have a name? ” “ Yes, ” the maiden answered. “ It is called the Fountain of Pirene. My grandmother told me that long ago Pirene was a woman who wept so much for her lost child that she melted into tears. So this water is the sorrow of a mother’s heart. ” Bellerophon looked at the sparkling stream with new wonder. “ I would never have guessed, ” he said softly, “ that such cheerful water could hold even a single tear. Thank you for telling me. I have come from far away to find this very place. ” The country fellow stared at the jeweled bridle. “ If you traveled all this way just to drink, ” he said, “ the streams must be low where you come from. And tell me — have you lost a horse? That’s a fine bridle to be carrying around without one. ” “ I have lost no horse, ” Bellerophon said with a small smile. “ But I am looking for a famous one. Do you know whether the winged horse Pegasus still comes to the Fountain of Pirene? ” The country fellow laughed so hard he nearly tugged his cow’s rope. “ Pegasus! A horse with wings? What use would wings be to a horse? Would he plow a field better? No, no. There never was such a ridiculous creature. ” “ I have reason to believe there was, ” said Bellerophon, quietly. He turned to the old man, who had been listening with his head leaned forward, one hand cupped at his ear. “ And what say you, venerable sir? Surely you have seen Pegasus in your younger days. ” The old man blinked. “ My memory is poor, ” he admitted. “ When I was a boy, I…

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