Origin: Grandson of [death cheating/boulder pushing] Sisyphus. Son of Glaucus, King of Corinth.
Claim to Fame: Slayer of the Chimera, hybrid fire-breathing lion/serpent/goat monster located in Lycia, Asia Minor.
Literature: Homer's Illiad, Euripedes Bellerophontus
After accidentally killing his brother, he is exiled from Corinth but finds expiation as a suppliant of King Proteus (brother of Acrisius) in Tiryns. The Queen Sthenboea, however, takes a liking to him, and when her seductive charms are rejected she accuses Bellerophon of rape (Potiphar's Wife Motif). In order to find a way to honor Xenia (Greek Guest/Host relations) Proteus orders Bellerophon to take a letter to his father-in law in Lycia (Far East) inscripted with the message to "kill the bearer of the letter". The father-in-law, also unwilling to violate Xenia in fear of the wrath of the Erinyes, instructs Bellerophon to defeat the monsterous Chimera to relieve the dishonor of his accusation.
Bellerophon seeks the aid of Athena, who gives him a golden bridal of which he can use to tame the mythological steed Pegasus. He succeeds in slaying the Chimera through suffocation, and returns to the Greek mainland a hero.
Later on, Bellerophon attempts to ascent Mt. Olympus on Pegasus. For his Hubris, Zeus sends a gadfly to aggravate Pegasus into bucking him off. While Pegasus is captured by Zeus, Bellerophon falls from grace (literally and metaphorically), and lives out the rest of his days as a cripple.
