Bellerophon and Pegasus

Bellerophon
and Pegasus
'..... ,1:
Pegasus was the winged horse of Greek
,~
mythology, He sprang full-grown from the blood 01
a monster killed by the great hero Perseus,
.,~
Pegasus would allow no one to own or ride him, .~
and he would quickly flyaway whenever a
'
human came near,;
Bellerophon, a noble young Greek man, saw;;~
Pegasus and immediately wanted to own him, Butl:
he did not know how to capture the winged
.
horse. Then,a wise man named Polydiustold
.
Bellerophon to go and sleep at the temple of the]
Goddess Athena. There, in a dream, Bellerophon ~
saw the goddess holding out a golden bridle,
,~
When he awoke, he found the bridle lying on the ~
floor beside him.
.I'
Bellerophon took the magic bridle and went
to look for Pegasus,When he found the horse
grazing in a field, Bellerophon crept up and
quickly slipped the bridle over Pegasus' head,
Pegasus did not fight Bellerophon, but let the
youth get on his back and ride him, The two of
,
them became great friends and traveled all over\
the world together, looking for excitement,
"
Among the many adventures Bellerophon
and Pegasus had was a battle with the Chimaerd\
Thishuge beast had the body of a goat, the
head of a lion, and the tail of a snake, No one, it
seemed, could get close enough to kill the awful f
creature, for it breathed fire, killing anyone who !l
tried to fight it, But Bellerophon rode Pegasus intol
the sky just beyond the monster's reach and shot;l
it with a mighty bow and arrow, Thus,they earned~
the gratitude of the people in the land where thaf'
Chimaera had lived.
.
Bellerophon lived happily with Pegasus fori
some time, Then he began to think himself great ~'
enough to live with the gods themselves, So he il
tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus, the hom~L
of the gods, But Pegasus knew that Bellerophon1~
could never enter Olympus and sadly threw him'
off his back, Bellerophon lived a lonely, unhappy .~.
life separated from his companion, Pegasus,
:i,
however, went to Olympus and lived in the
,Ji
golden stalls of the gods' horses,Forever
:;lj
afterwards, he served Zeus,the greatest of the;',fl:
gods,
.;
Think About It
A.
Myths, Legends,
Neat Things IF8714
':1'
Have you ever had a pet that was your special
friend? Tell or write about it,
Polydius is pronounced po li'deus.
Bellerophon is pronounced be ler'o fan.
Pegasus is pronounced peg' a sus,
Perseusis pronounced per' sus,
Athena is pronounced a the/na,
Chimaera is pronounced ghi mael ra,!
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© 1990 Instructional
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Fair, Inc.
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Name
Bellerophon
and Pegasus
Main Idea
1. Thisstory explains
__
the friendship of Pegasus and
Belierophon.
__
Belierophon's dream.
__
the battle with the Chimaera.
I
Sequencing
2. Number the events below in the order that they happened.
__
Belierophon and Pegasus had a battle with the Chimaera.
__
Belierophon tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus.
__
Belierophon and Pegasus became great friends.
"1
,
__
Pegasus served Zeus forever afterwards.
Pegasus sadly threw Belierophonoff his back.
Reading for Details
3. Scan the story to answer these questions,
Who was the only person able to capture Pegasus?
What did Belierophon use to capture Pegasus?
_
_
When did Belierophon find the bridle?
Where did Belierophon and Pegasustravel together?
_
Why did Pegasusthrow Belierophon off hisback?
_
Reading for Understanding
4. Place the correct letter in the blank.
__
Pegasus
a. young Greek man·
__
Belierophon b. god
__
Polydius
c. winged horse
__
Athena
d. wise man
--'--_
__
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Chimaera
e. goddess
Mt. Olympus f. beast
Zeus
, g. home of the gods---J
II
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Myths, Legends, Neat Things IF8714
25
© 1990 Instructional Fair, Inc.