Once upon a time, there was a prince of Corinth named Bellerophon. He was exiled from this country due to his accident - killed his own brother. He came to the Kingdom of Argos, ruled by King Proetus, for purification. While he was there, he got kicked out of Kingdom of Argos because of Queen Anteia, who planned to let him be the next of her lover but failed. After that, he was sent to Kingdom of Lycia, where Proetus's father-in-law, Iobates, ruled as king. Then, he requested Bellerophon to kill the great monster, Chimaera. Bellerophon, who got supported by goddess Minerva, bravely killed the monster with Pegasus, a horse with two giant wings, and was greatly honored by king. However, as Bellerophon's fame grew, he felt that, with Pegasus, he could fly up to Mount Olympus, where gods live. Jupiter saw his approaching and hurled down a thunderbolt and toppled him off from Pegasus. He spent the rest of his life wandering aimlessly until he died. Pegasus, though, was continued to fly until he reached the heavens.
There are some morals in this story. First of all, one of the main morals is loyalty. Even though Gods in Greek mythology have human characteristics, they still want to be respected by human creatures. In other words, they want loyalty from humans. Jupiter acts as an authority who must maintain order when no one else can. Second of all, the story tells not to seek out more than what you need. Bellerophon is a complex hero. He seems to be close to godlike status, but he is still a human being. Despite his position, he decides to fly up to Mount Olympus, which is a wrong choice. Jupiter puts him back to his place at the end of the tale, which answers the question of what separates humans from gods. Because of his ambitions, he loses favor with the gods at the end. Last but not least, one interesting element in this tale is the hospitality. Neither of kings are unable to punish Bellerophon although he deserves one. This is because they all concern hospitality toward Bellerophon, plus, they feel that they cannot judge Bellerophon's sin since they are all humans. They believe only gods can order or judge Bellerophon since the purpose of visiting their kingdoms is for purifying his sin. The tale of Bellerophon concerns a recurring theme in Greek mythology: hospitality is essential to win or keep divine favor.
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