Pegasus and Bellerophon: An Ancient Tale of Love

This is my take on the story of Pegasus and the man he loved.

             His sleek, white coat glistened like a million diamonds as the unadulterated sunlight shined down on him.  A gentle brook bubbled beside him as he made a small nest for himself so he could sleep after a long day’s journey.  He had almost fallen asleep when he heard a twig snap.  Feigning sleep, he kept his head down and his eyes closed, but his ears were on alert.  SNAP!  There it was again along with a weary sigh.  Whoever this intruder was they did not seem happy with what they were about to do.  Then a lean, muscled figure stepped into the forest clearing with a gold bridle in his hand. 

                In a flash, he was on his feet baring his teeth at this intruder, who dared to disturb this peaceful afternoon.  “Calm down, boy.   Pegasus, whoa boy,” soothed the intruder.

 Pegasus could not believe his ears that this dark bronzed man would talk to him as if he were some dumb beast.   “Do not treat me as other dumb beasts!  I am the son of Poseidon and Medusa and I deserve the respect you would give to your fellow man.  You most certainly will not use the bridle on me.”

The man dropped the bridle in astonishment at the deep, yet pleasant masculine voice that had come from Pegasus’ mouth.  “I am sorry Pegasus.  Let me introduce myself, my name is Bellerophon. Athena sent me here to ask for your help to defeat the chimera, which is terrorizing her beloved city, Athens.”  Mentioning the chimera caused the would-be hero to shudder.  Pegasus understood how Bellerophon felt about the chimera.  A beast in every sense of the word, the chimera’s body was a twisted version of a female with three heads.  Pegasus watched the man sit dejectedly on an ancient stump; it was quite obvious that the man felt he already failed in his quest.  Something stirred in Pegasus’ chest, a feeling he had never felt before; he wanted to help this man succeed.

 It seemed his heart decided for him, Pegasus trotted over to Bellerophon.  “Get on.  I will help you in your quest.”  A dazzling smiled like Pegasus had never seen before spread across Bellerophon faces as he hoisted himself up on Pegasus’ sturdy back. The closeness of Bellerophon caused a weird tingling sensation deep inside Pegasus and his body flushed with a foreign feeling.  Shaking his majestic mane, Pegasus took off for Athens.

Along the way, Pegasus and Bellerophon planned a battle strategy to conquer the chimera, but they also shared their personal stories.  Pegasus told Bellerophon that he did not know his mother as she was killed by Perseus.  Bellerophon revealed his darkest fear that he would not be able to redeem his family name due to his grandfather sharing Zeus’ secrets.  This was why Bellerophon jumped at the chance to defeat the chimera and win back the gods’ favor.  In just a few hours’ time, Pegasus and Bellerophon became close friends, each with their own demons they wanted to exorcise. 

Closing in on the chimera, they smelled her before they saw her.  The air was thick with soot and the smell of charred flesh.  Pegasus and Bellerophon had discussed the most deadly aspect of the chimera"she could breathe fire.  “She is here.  We will circle overhead which will gain her attention,” said Pegasus to Bellerophon as they soared on the winds in a low circle.  Without a warning, a blast of fire came out of nowhere singeing Pegasus as he maneuvered himself out of the line of fire.  “Get your arrows ready.  I am going to dive in and surprise her, while you jump off and attack her from behind.”  Bellerophon gave a tight nod and prepared himself for the assault.  Pegasus with the power of a god’s son dived in a graceful pirouette making it easy for Bellerophon to jump and drop to his knees.  Pegasus came face to face with the green, scaly three-headed woman, who immediately swiped Pegasus with her talon-like claws.  He backed up missing her attack only by an inch.  Out of the corner of his eye, Pegasus saw Bellerophon walk in a crouch until he was directly behind the chimera.  Again, Pegasus distracted the chimera, whose full attention was on the white, winged horse.  THUMP!  THUMP!  THUMP!  Bellerophon released three arrows, each one hitting one of the chimera’s three heads.  Exhausted, Pegasus fell to the ground in pain.

Seeing his companion fall, Bellerophon rushed to Pegasus’ side.  On his knees, Bellerophon clearly saw what had made his friend fall.  Pegasus’s side had several deep scratch marks with black poison seeping out.  Bellerophon’s heart pounded in his chest.  Fear gripped him.  He did not want to lose this friend, who cared about him despite that he had the god’s disfavor.  “NO!  Pegasus, stay with me!  Please!”  Tears leaked from his eyes as held on to Pegasus.  Then an idea formed in his mind.  Athena owed him for destroying the chimera and she would grant him a favor.  “Pegasus, listen to me.  I know it will hurt, but if you can get us to Mount Olympus, Athena owes us a favor.”  Pegasus knew how childish Bellerophon’s hope was and knew there was no point to even try.  The problem was Pegasus could not deny this man, whom he came to deeply care about, anything.  With some help from Bellerophon, Pegasus got to his feet.  His friend perched gently on Pegasus’ back so he would not cause him anymore undue pain. 

The closer they got to Mount Olympus, the harder it was for Pegasus to breathe.  Bellerophon kept murmuring endearments and encouragement.  All of a sudden, there was a crack of thunder and the winds became violent.  Pegasus could not stay up any longer and they began to fall.  Bellerophon tried to wake Pegasus, but it was no use.  Knowing he was going to die no longer mattered, as long as he was with Pegasus.  He closed his eyes and waited for the end, which never came.  Opening his eyes, Bellerophon saw a beautiful, strong woman with dove grey eyes staring down at him.  He noticed that even though Pegasus and he were on the ground; they were not dead.  Athena had saved them.  “Rise, my hero!  You have angered my father Zeus in your vain attempt to reach Mount Olympus.  I, on the other hand, see the foolhardy, yet brave attempt to save your friend.” 

Bellerophon prostrated himself before the warrior goddess and pleaded, “Please save him.  It is my fault that he is hurt.”  He knew tears were streaming down his face and knew he should be embarrassed, because it was not “manly”; however, his thoughts were only for Pegasus.

“I will grant you your boon that I owe you, but I must tell you that the Pegasus before you is dead.”  Anguish and pain washed over him in a tsunami of emotion.  Before Bellerophon could say anything, Athena cut through his pain with her next words.  “His equine body is dead, Bellerophon, but the man inside is alive.  Look!”  Afraid to turn his eyes to Pegasus, Bellerophon hesitated, but in the end he obeyed the goddess. 

Standing there, where Pegasus had been moments before, stood a golden man with hair so blonde that it appeared white.  Bellerophon stared in wonder at the man, who he knew was Pegasus; his heart would always recognize Pegasus despite his form. Pegasus stepped forward into Bellerphon’s open arms.  “I never thought this would be possible to be embraced like this,” whispered Pegasus in awe while Bellerophon held him close. 

“I never thought it was possible to care for someone…to love someone as much as I do you!”  Bellerophon turned his head to give Athena his thanks, but she was already gone.  Pegasus looked into Bellerophon’s warm brown eyes and knew that he waited his life for this man. With a kiss so tender, Bellerophon and Pegasus united and became one with the favor of the gods, because a love so pure could only be blessed by the gods.

Author's Note

I am dedicating this story in memory of my cousin, Danny, and the LGBT community. My cousin, who I loved, wanted acceptance from his parents that never came. In his depression and sadness, he committed suicide. He had a big heart and was just one of those people that you love instantly. Since intolerance is so prevalent around the world, people, like my cousin, deem themselves and their love wrong and deserving of death. Love is tolerance. No matter what "they" say remember there is always love and I LOVE my friends and everyone in the LGBT community. I hope you enjoy! No negative comments, if you do not believe this way, keep your opinions to yourself.

Reviews

[LA Lorena]

A lovely story, and a perfectly fitting tribute to your cousin. Love comes in all forms, shapes and sizes. It is not our place to judge, at least I don't believe it is. Respect and acceptance for others, as we would hope to find for our own differences, whatever they may be. A highly personal write, I applaud you for this, and for standing up for what you believe in.

Just a side note in regards to your Author's note - while I understand your not wanting to hear negative comments, I think you weaken your convictions and risk losing legitimacy by telling those whose opinions are different to keep them to themselves. In order to stand up to your convictions, you cannot shelter yourself from negative criticism. You are advocating tolerance.... you have to practice it.

[Reaper]

I love mythology stories and this was one of the best i have read.

[melissa]

Amazing story I hope to read more from you

[Sean Allen]

Nicely done, and a sad story about your cousin. Perhaps he lives on in a far off Mt. Olympus and is happy.

[frozensakura]

wow great job. once i started reading i didn't want to stop. great write!

[.shalynn.009.]

“Do not treat me as other dumb beasts!" Since you already used "dumb beasts" inteh sentence before, you should try to pick another way of saying it. Maybe a common animal or somethign along those lines?

"A dazzling smiled" I think you meant smile

"across Bellerophon faces" Bellerophon's face

"who immediately swiped Pegasus" this would sound better as "him"

Love you rreason for writing this. And I like the ending, your interpretation of Pegasus being turned into a man, rather than the constellation. This was a good medium for you to express your support for the LGBT community, since Ancient Greeks saw no problems with homosexuality. they accepted it as natural, although two men adn two women still couldn't marry. They even had a god, Eros (the original version of Cupid, and the better one) who was the god of deeper love than his mother, and his love included both heterosexual and homosexual love.

You have a nice ability to spin your tales in not a lot of words and make your characters as believable as gods and flying horses can be.I like that you kept it simple in details and descriptions, because that's how most grrek myths are in teh telling, still with the getting across of the beauty or power or abilites of the gods. And I thought it was interesting that you switched perspective halfway through from Pegasus' POV to Bellerophon's. It worked, because of Pegasus' death and it was aswitch that I didn't really notice until the end, which I liked.

And I like that in your renditions of these myths, the endings are always slightly different, still staying true to the story, yet adding deeper meanings and bringing the characters more to life. You do seem to repeat words quite a bit (in teh first paragraph, you use the word "sleep" three timees in succession) which can get a bit repetitive, but other than that I very much enjoy your work.

Also, I am a part of the LGBT community, so I'm always happy to see someone willing to show their support through creation and art rather than through name-calling and hate-spewing. Much more effective way of voicing your opinions in the debate. And that ending line really emphasized your message, it was very effective and a great way to wrap up your tribute to your cousin in a strong and clear ending. Endings are the hardest parts about writing, but yours was quite well done. Keep writing and thanks for the RR.

[SparksLC]

WOW this was really addicting =) I was enticed from beginning to end. Great Job! I love the mythology in this!

[Samuel Dickens]

I couldn't agree more with your message of acceptance or your reason for writing this. Untold numbers of loved ones have ended their lives or suffered unbearable anguish because of being born "different", and I wish with all my heart that the prejudice would end. God made us all, and it has been said that he makes no junk.
Commenting on your story, I think it's a little bit rushed and needs a bit more developement--especially the relationship between Bellerophon and Pegasus. Overall, it's very-well written and imaginative.

[Lourisa]

I enjoyed this story a lot, Vanessa. Right from the beginning one could form a vivid picture of the events. A lovely way to end my long day.

[r.r. krueck]

I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. The ending was unexpected, but heartwarming. I did notice a few grammatical errors but otherwise greatly written!

Pegasus and Bellerophon had discussed the most deadly aspect of the chimera"she could breathe fire. “She is here. We will circle overhead which will gain her attention,” --- the '' after chimera

A dazzling smiled like Pegasus had never seen before spread across Bellerophon faces as he hoisted himself up on Pegasus’ sturdy back. -- face not faces

The closeness of Bellerophon caused a weird tingling sensation deep inside Pegasus and his body flushed with a foreign feeling. -- the inclusion of a 'weird tingling sensation' as well as a 'foreign feeling' seems to be redundant. A weird sensation and a foreign feeling are nearly the same thing.

[Christopher Vargas]

I love it, I am a greek mythology scholar and unofficial major and not many people get their mythology right but you nailed it.