| Bellerophon | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Bellerophontes, Hipponous |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Bellerophon was a divine Corinthian hero of Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Eurynome, and the foster son of Glaukos. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles". Among his greatest feats was killing the Chimera of the Iliad, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail: "her breath came out in terrible blasts of burning flame."
Bellerophon was also known for capturing and taming the winged horse Pegasus with the help of Athena's charmed bridle, and earning the disfavor of the gods after attempting to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Bellerophon from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Iliad
- Theogony
- Catalogues of Women Fragments
- The Homeric Hymns
- Odes
- The Library
- Idylls
- Love Romances
- The Library of History
- Geography
- Description of Greece
- Cynegetica
- Fall of Troy
- Dionysiaca
- Fabulae
- Astronomica
- Fasti
- Elegies
- The Golden Ass
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Kid Eternity #17: In order to stop the villain Baron Roxx, Kid Eternity summons Bellerophon and Pegasus as well as Dr. Walter Reed, Florence Nightingale, Charlie Siringo, Blondin, and Charles Freeman.
Notes[]
- The replacement of Bellerophon as the tamer and rider of Pegasus by the more familiar culture hero Perseus was not simply an error of painters and poets of the Renaissance. The transition was a development of Classical times which became the standard image during the Middle Ages and has been adopted by the European poets of the Renaissance and later: Giovanni Boccaccio's Genealogia deorum gentilium libri identifies Pegasus as the steed of Perseus, and Pierre Corneille places Perseus upon Pegasus in Andromède.