Bellerophon riding Pegasus and killing the Chimera, Roman mosaic, the Rolin Museum in Autun, France, 2nd-3rd C. CE
"He [King Iobates of Lykia (Lycia)] ordered Bellerophon to slay the Khimaira (Chimera), assuming that he would instead be destroyed himself by the beast, since not even a quantity of men could subdue it with ease, let alone one. For it was a single being that had the force of three beasts, the front part of a lion, the tail of a drakon, and the third--middle--head was that of a goat, through which it breathed out fire. It despoiled the countryside and ravaged the herds. It was allegedly reared by Amisodaros (Amisodarus), as Homer also states, and according to Hesiod its parents were Typhon and Ekhidna (Echidna). Bellerophon mounted Pegasos (Pegasus), his winged horse born of Medousa (Medusa) and Poseidon, and flying high into the air brought down the Khimaira with his bow and arrows."
-Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 31 - 32 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer 2nd C. CE)
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| Bellerophon riding Pegasus and killing the Chimera, Roman mosaic, the Rolin Museum in Autun, France, 2nd-3rd C. CE. "This large medallion is the central part (emblema) of a 110m2 mosaic. This sumptuous floor decoration certainly took place in the reception hall of an aristocratic residence. Discovered in Autun in 1830, it was first presented there, then bought by the State for the Louvre, then the Museums of National Antiquities, before returning to the Rolin Museum in 1985. The medallion treats on a black background the subject of Bellerophon riding Pegasus and slaying the chimera, a monster with the body of a lion, a goat and a serpent. Here the hero is about to ram his spear into the animal's throat. This theme evokes the victory of intelligence and bravery over evil, and Bellerophon is a model of an ancient hero. The same posture will be taken up in Christian times in the iconography of Saint George." |
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