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    pegasus   Pegasus is a winged horse that plays a role in several Greek myths.
The creature was born as the child of Poseidon, who was the Greek god of horses as well as the god of the sea, and Medusa. Medusa was a Gorgon, a woman with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes, who could turn people into stone just by looking at them. Many tried to defeat her, but failed and were turned into statues. Finally, the hero Perseus managed to get close to her and cut off her head. Pegasus was born out of her blood.
  
 Everywhere the winged horse struck hoof to earth, a spring appeared; one of these springs was on a mountain called Helicon, the place where the Muses lived. These nine goddesses embodied the different forms of poetry, drama and science, and the spring made by Pegasus brought inspiration to all who drank from it.

The story of Bellerophon begins with his exile from the city where he lived after having murdered a man. He arrives at the palace of Proetus, who by virtue of his kingship, cleansed Bellerophon of his crime and allowed him to stay in town. The king’s wife, however, fell in love with Bellerophon, who repulsed her advances. Angered, the kings wife accused Bellerophon of trying to seduce her, and king Proetus sent Bellerophon carrying a sealed letter to King Iobates, his father in law. The message was: "Please remove the bearer from this world: he attempted to violate my wife, your daughter."
 When Bellerophon arrived at the palace of king Iobates he was welcomed as a guest, and the king held a feast in his honor which lasted for several days. After the feast, Iobates opened the letter and was dismayed at its content: He had welcomed Bellerophon as a guest and had honored him at his own table. The laws of hospitality were very important in Greek society, and those who did not follow them were punished by the gods; killing your guests was definitely frowned upon.
The kings solution was to send Bellerophon on mission he would never be able to complete: to kill the fire-breathing monster Chimera, which had the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon. 
"This I shall gladly attempt," said Bellerophon boldly after the king had given him his mission, though he was shaking with fear. How could he slay such a dreadful monster?
He consulted a seer, who advised him: "You must capture the wild winged horse, Pegasus. Then mount this wonderful flying horse and do battle with the Chimera."
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"Everyone has heard of Pegasus," said Bellerophon. "But how will I capture this animal?"
"Go and sleep in the temple of Athena," said the seer, and he would say no more.

And so Bellerophon went to the temple of Athena in the mountains nearby, and went to sleep there. While he slept, Bellerophon dreamt that Athena herself laid a golden bridle beside him and told him what to do. When he woke up, the golden bridle was still next to him. He found Pegasus near a forest spring not far from the temple and caught him with ease. Bellerophon mounted his steed and flew off to where the Chimera was said to dwell.
When he arrived, the Chimera was truly ferocious, and he could not harm the monster even while riding on Pegasus. He felt the heat of the breath the

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Chimera expelled, and had an idea.
Bellerophon got a large block of lead and mounted it on his spear. He then flew head-on towards the Chimera, holding out the spear as far as he could, and managed to lodge the block of lead inside the Chimera's throat. The beast's fire-breath melted the lead, and blocked its air passage. The Chimera suffocated, and Bellerophon returned victorious and unharmed to king Iobates.