The Story of Bellerophon - (3)
The short but intense walk through the sky had ended. With Pegasus already handed over to Hermes some time ago, I glanced back.
“...Ugh.”
Styx kept her head bowed, still unable to meet my eyes. This was the goddess who had approached me first on several occasions, yet the moment I took the initiative, she became completely flustered. The sight was so endearing that the corner of my mouth nearly lifted—until the timid, shrinking voice that slipped from her lips made my expression freeze.
“Um… Hades. About the accident that happened up there today…”
“…It wasn’t an accident.”
“What?! Then… then…”
I decided to take one more step. I moved slowly toward the beautiful goddess. She flinched but did not retreat.
Just as I had done in the sky, I gently rested my right hand on her waist… and with my left, I cupped the back of her head.
In this moment, the true feelings I revealed to the goddess of oaths—the most beautiful of all. Embarrassment, courage, hesitation… Every emotion flooded my mind, yet the smooth, flowing motion washed them all away.
Chu.
This time it was not the east wind pushed by Euros. It came from my own complete will.
Bellerophon.
Born with exceptional courage, he had originally wanted to become a hero and set out for Thebes. Yet after accidentally killing his own brother, he committed a grave crime and sought refuge with Proitos, king of Tiryns.
However… the queen, Anteia, attempted to seduce him.
“Bellerophon, won’t you spend even a single night with me?”
“…I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
He could not betray his benefactor Proitos, so he refused her coldly. But who could have guessed that the scorned queen would rage and lie to her husband?
“Darling, Bellerophon tried to seduce me. He called me into the chamber and began casting suggestive glances…”
“What?! That scoundrel…!”
The king believed her without question. Yet the sacred custom of hospitality prevented him from killing a guest who had come under his roof.
“Bellerophon, deliver this letter to my father-in-law, His Majesty Iobates.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Thus the scheme King Proitos devised was to send a letter to his father-in-law, Iobates the king of Lycia, that read “Please kill the one who brings this letter,” and have Bellerophon carry it himself. His own father-in-law would do the deed in his stead.
To my honored father-in-law, King Iobates of Lycia.
The bearer of this letter has committed a terrible crime against my house. I beg you—kill him at once.
“So you bring a letter from my son-in-law?”
“Yes, here it is.”
Yet when King Iobates read the letter, he too hesitated to kill the young man outright. Instead he devised another plan.
“Bellerophon, do you think you could slay the monstrous Chimera?”
“The Chimera…?”
“It is a vile beast that devours humans. The letter says you possess great courage and strength, so I ask this of you. If you succeed, I shall give you my daughter Philonoe and the throne of Lycia.”
“Do you truly mean it? Then I shall challenge the beast!”
Thus Iobates sought to borrow the claws of the man-eating Chimera that terrorized Lycia in order to eliminate him.
Bellerophon left the palace full of vigor, yet he had no idea where the monster might be. Realizing his own power might not be enough, he headed for a nearby temple of Athena. Having always excelled in martial arts and strength, he hunted several deer, offered them as sacrifice, and sought the goddess’s oracle.
“O wise Athena, goddess of wisdom, I must slay the monstrous Chimera with my own hands. I beg you for your divine counsel…”
The news that a human sought to kill one of Typhon’s children reached Olympus through Athena. The gods upon the clouds rejoiced at the birth of a new hero.
“A child of Typhon will not fall easily to an ordinary mortal.”
“Only someone of Cadmus’s caliber would stand a chance against the Chimera, wouldn’t you say?”
“It is a powerful monster that can kill most heroes. Would it not be reasonable to offer a little assistance? If we were to send Pegasus…”
“To a mere human? Besides, Pegasus was born from the blood of Goddess Medusa. Is that divine beast not under the dominion of the Underworld?”
“If we ask Lord Hades for permission and receive it, we could have the man tame Pegasus himself…”
“In other words, we test whether he is worthy to handle a heavenly steed. I approve.”
The gods’ decision was soon delivered to the Underworld and reached my ears. Hermes, having received the heavenly horse from me, released Pegasus in a meadow. While Bellerophon slept, Athena appeared in his dream and spoke.
“Take this bridle and go to the nearby meadow. When the winged horse Pegasus is asleep, seize the moment, fit the bridle on him, and endure. The divine steed shall become your strength.”
“A winged horse… Pegasus…?”
“As for the Chimera’s location…”
When Bellerophon awoke, a splendid bridle decorated with gold lay in his hand. Only then did he realize the dream had been an oracle. He raced to the meadow and found Pegasus at once.
The pure-white winged horse was peacefully asleep after grazing, just as Hermes had instructed. Bellerophon approached the divine beast with care. The sleeping steed did not notice the hero’s approach, and he successfully fitted the bridle.
Thud—
Pr-r-r-r!
Neigh!
“Ugh, what fierce resistance!”
Having bridled the horse, Bellerophon swiftly mounted and began the taming. Only after completely exhausting the divine steed’s wild struggles would he be acknowledged as master.
Neighhh!
Flap— Whoooosh!
As the divine horse thrashed wildly in the air, Bellerophon poured every ounce of strength into his thighs and grip. Realizing it could not easily throw him, Pegasus spread its wings and soared into the sky.
“Wait… there are clouds beneath my feet…! But do you think I’ll give up just because of this?”
Fierce winds battered the hero’s body. The celestial scenery he had never witnessed before weighed heavily upon him. All he could trust were the golden bridle Athena had given him and his own raw power.
Once they climbed beyond a certain altitude, Pegasus stopped beating its wings and suddenly turned its head toward the ground. Then it folded its wings and dove straight down. Did it intend to die together with the hero on its back?
Shweeeeee—
“Krrgh!”
Yet Bellerophon never released the bridle. He clenched his teeth and endured the violent turbulence, the heart-stopping plunge from cloud-piercing heights, and the threat of death rushing up to meet him.
Pr-r-r-r—
Just before striking the ground, Pegasus spread its wings as if admitting defeat and glided smoothly. The hero gripping the bridle from behind let out a sigh of relief and wiped cold sweat from his brow.
Having failed to throw Bellerophon, Pegasus descended obediently and accepted him as master.
“Good fellow. You no longer run when I dismount. Thank you.”
And so Bellerophon rode the heavenly horse toward the place where Athena had said the Chimera dwelled.
When he reached the location Athena had indicated, a colossal monster combining the heads of a lion, a goat, and a serpent waited there. The hero, mounted on Pegasus, drew his bow and nocked an arrow.
Swish—
The powerful shot flew with all his strength, yet…
Thud.
“No…!”
The arrow bounced off the Chimera’s hide the instant it touched. The skin and muscle of a beast born from Typhon’s blood were far too thick for human strength to pierce.
Bellerophon fired dozens more arrows, but not one left so much as a scratch. The Chimera growled mockingly and spewed fierce flames that reached even the Pegasus hovering in the sky.
Whoosh—
“Tsk. Let’s pull back for now, Pegasus!”
Bellerophon had no choice but to turn and retreat to the village. Only the enraged Chimera remained.
Grrrr—
You are fated to die by a human hero’s hand, yet a prophecy may rightly choose its own path.
I shall guide you.
A voice suddenly rose from the ground. The intelligent Chimera was startled. This feeling… why did it seem so familiar?
Grrrr?!
Even as the Chimera wondered, the voice continued. It did not come from any direction. It pierced directly into the monster’s mind…
The goat head, possessing terrible wisdom, whispered to the other two. This voice felt exactly like their parent, Typhon!
With those final words, the Chimera’s eyes turned blood-red and it began to run somewhere.
Bellerophon, having returned to the nearby village, pondered how to defeat the Chimera and hit upon a clever plan. He went straight to the blacksmith.
He approached the smith who was hammering steel and bluntly asked him to make a single strange spear.
“Please make me one spear with a lump of lead fixed to the end.”
“Lead…? What would you use something like that for? If I make it, can you even carry it?”
“Of course. It’s to kill a monster.”
Thus armed with the heavy lead-tipped spear, Bellerophon smiled with confidence. When the beast breathed fire, he would hurl the spear into its maw. The lead would melt inside its belly and kill the monster from within.
Yet when he returned to the site, the Chimera was nowhere to be seen. Had the monster hidden in fear of a human? Or had he come to the wrong place?
Confused, Bellerophon searched the entire area but could not find it. Then a voice reached him—from above.
“Bellerophon, the Chimera ran in this direction. Hurry after it.”
Upon a cloud a short distance away stood a fully armed goddess. She pointed with her spear, indicating the direction the Chimera had gone.
“Thank you, O nameless goddess!”
“I am Athena, goddess of wisdom.”
After bowing to her, Bellerophon urged Pegasus forward and chased after the Chimera. Wait… but this direction… wasn’t this the way to Lycia?