The Great Greek Myths | Bellerophon: The Man Who Wanted to be a God (Episode 14)

Episode 14: Bellerophon, the grandson of Sisyphus, one of the Greek world’s worst criminals, dreamt of becoming a hero, of being equal to the Gods. But his plans got off to a bad start with the accidental murder of his brother. Forced into exile, he took refuge in Tyrins.

But there too, nothing went according to plan: accused of rape by Queen Stheneboea, he left to visit the King of Lycia, who in a bid to get rid of him, imposed fearsome challenges on him. Bellerephon was victorious, thanks to Pegasus the horse, but he subsequently committed the sin of pride, boasting to the priests that he was singlehandedly responsible for his own success. For Zeus, claiming to be equal to the Gods was an unpardonable error, so he caused Bellerophon to fall, which resulted in him going blind.