The king was forced to acknowledge that Bellerophontes must be the son of a god and welcomed him into his house as his son-in-law and heir.ĭespite all of his successes, Bellerophontes was still not satisfied and sought to ascend to heaven on the back of Pegasos. Finally, Iobates commanded his guards to ambush and kill the youth, but he slew them all. The king then ordered him to subdue the barbarous Solymoi tribe, and later the Amazones, but again he proved victorious. He rode into battle against the beast on the back of Pegasos and slew it by driving a lead-tipped spear into its fiery gullet. Iobates was reluctant to do this himself and so commanded Bellerophontes to slay the fire-breathing Khimaira (Chimera) which was ravaging the land. Proitos then sent him off to King Iobates in Lykia (Lycia) with a closed letter requesting the youth be put to death. The queen, however, developed a lust for the hero and when he spurned her, she told her husband he had tried to violate her. He was later exiled for the murder of a family member and journeyed to the court of King Proitos (Proetus) in Argos for purification. In his youth Bellerophontes captured the winged horse Pegasos as it came to drink from the town's fountain. He was a son of the god Poseidon and Eurynome, wife of King Glaukos (Glaucus) of Korinthos (Corinth). Paul Getty MuseumīELLEROPHONTES (Bellerophon) was one of the most celebrated heroes of myth. Wielder of Missiles Bellerophon, Pegasus and Chimera, Laconian black-figure kylix C6th B.C., The J.