Arrogance Leads to Downfall- Bulfinch’s Mythology Assignment 2

In the story of Bellerophon and the Chimera, I learned of yet another lesson. The message could be interpreted in several ways and different people might have different perspectives. Again we cannot take these stories literally. In the city of Lycia, king Iobates is devastated by a great monster. The Chimera is a great monster with the head of a lion and a tale like a snake and a goat in the middle, fire bursting from its mouth, destroying the city. He is desperate for a hero, someone to vanquish the evil. His son in law then sends someone who fits the picture. Bellerophon comes to the city and requests a chance to defeat the Chimera. The king’s son in law also sent with Bellerophon a letter giving recommendations for Bellerophon as a great hero. The letter also proposed that the king kill Bellerophon after he was used. Now whenever someone is in possession of a message that contains something life threatening to them. So the king planned to use Bellerophon to destroy the Chimera and then kill his guest. This is a characteristic that many humans have. Most people take advantage others and then throw them away. So Bellerophon tamed the winged horse Pegasus and gained a victory over the monster. The king threw all the dangers he had at Bellerophon but he conquered them all with ease. “The hero was a special favorite of the gods.” But soon he became arrogant and thought he could fly into heaven with his great horse. Zues was greatly angered by Bellerophon’s arrogance so he sent a gadfly to bite Pegasus who threw down his rider. Bellerophon roamed for the rest of his life lame and blind. His arrogance led to his downfall. He was ungrateful for his abilities and gifts. The story teaches us to be humble and thankful for what we have or it may lead to a bad end.