Slaying the Chimera

First Bellerophon had to kill the Chimera. The word chimera is Greek for “goat,” but this was a much more fearsome creature than any ordinary goat. The mythological Chimera was a fire-breathing monster with the head of a

Left: This illustration, based on a 17th-century woodcut, shows Bellerophon with the winged horse Pegasus, which he tamed.

Right: This terra-cotta reliecf, dating from 450 BCE, shows Bellerophon slaying the threeheaded Chimera. The Chimera was reputed to have the strength of three beasts and to breathe fire. An active volcano in Lycia also had the name Chimera.

Lion, a body with a goat’s head rising from it, and a snake as a tail. Bellerophon killed the monster. The king then sent him to fight the ferocious Solymi, a neighboring warrior tribe. Legends describe the battle between Bellerophon and the Solymi as the fiercest ever known, with Bellerophon emerging victorious. Bellerophon then had to fight the Amazons, a race of warrior women, but they too failed to kill him.

When Iobates heard that Bellerophon had survived the Amazons, the king sent his own soldiers to ambush him on his way back. Bellerophon killed every one of them. Then the king knew that this was a hero who was part divine, reinforcing the possibility that Poseidon was his real father. He ennobled Bellerophon and allowed him to marry his younger daughter and Anteia’s sister, Philonoe. Together the couple had three children, who became the ancestors of the Lycian royal house.