Long time he sought to seize on Pegasos, but the horse snorted wildly and tore up the ground in his fury, till Bellerophon sank wearied on the earth and a deep sleep weighed down his eyelids. Then, as he slept, Pallas Athene came and stood by his side, and cheered him with her brave words, and gave him a philtre which should tame the wild Pegasos. When Bellerophon awoke, the philtre was in his hand, and he knew now that he should accomplish the task which the Lykian King had given him to do. So, by the help of Athene, he mounted the winged Pegasos and smote the Chimæra, and struck off his head, and with it he went back, and told the King of all that had befallen him. But the King was filled with rage, for he thought not to see the face of Bellerophon again, and he charged him to go forth and do battle with the mighty Solymi and the fair Amazons. Then Bellerophon went forth again, for he dreamed not of guile and falsehood, and he dreaded neither man nor beast that might meet him in open battle. Long time he fought with the Solymi and the Amazons, until all his enemies shrank from the stroke of his mighty arm, and sought for mercy. Glad of heart, Bellerophon departed to carry his spoils to the home of the Lykian King, but as he drew nigh to it and was passing through a narrow dell where the thick brushwood covered the ground, fifty of the mightiest Lykians rushed upon him with fierce shoutings, and sought to slay him. At the first, Bellerophon withheld his hands, and said, "Lykian friends, I have feasted in the halls of your King, and eaten of his bread; surely ye are not come hither to slay me." But they shouted the more fiercely, and they hurled spears at Bellerophon; so he stretched forth his hand in the greatness of his strength, and did battle for his life until all the Lykians lay dead before him.
Weary in body and sad of heart, Bellerophon entered the hall where the King was feasting with his chieftains. And the King knew that Bellerophon could not have come thither unless he had first slain all the warriors whom he had sent forth to lie in wait for him. But he dissembled his wrath, and said, "Welcome, Bellerophon, bravest and mightiest of the sons of men. Thy toils are done, and the time of rest is come for thee. Thou shalt wed my daughter, and share with me my kingly power."
Then the minstrels praised the deeds of Bellerophon, and there was feasting for many days when he wedded the daughter of the King. But not yet was his doom accomplished; and once again the dark cloud gathered around him, laden with woe and suffering. Far away from his Lykian home, the wrath of Zeus drove him to the western land where the sun goes down into the sea. His heart was brave and guileless still, as in the days of his early youth, but the strength of his arm was weakened, and the light of his eye was now dim. Sometimes the might was given back to his limbs, and his face shone with its ancient beauty; and then, again, he wandered on in sadness and sorrow, as a man wanders in a strange path through the dark hours of night, when the moon is down. And so it was that when Bellerophon reached the western sea, he fell asleep and died, and the last sight which he saw before his eyes were closed was the red glare of the dying sun, as he broke through the barred clouds and plunged beneath the sea.
ALTHAIA AND THE BURNING BRAND.
There was feasting in the halls of Oineus, the chieftain of Kalydon, in the Ætolian land, and all prayed for wealth and glory for the chief, and for his wife, Althaia, and for the child who had on that day been born to them. And Oineus besought the King of gods and men with rich offerings, that his son, Meleagros, might win a name greater than his own, that he might grow up stout of heart and strong of arm, and that in time to come men might say, "Meleagros wrought mighty works and did good deeds to the people of the land."
But the mighty Moirai, whose word even Zeus himself may not turn aside, had fixed the doom of Meleagros. The child lay sleeping in his mother's arms, and Althaia prayed that her son might grow up brave and gentle, and be to her a comforter in the time of age and the hour of death. Suddenly, as she yet spake, the Moirai stood before her. There was no love or pity in their cold, grey eyes, and they looked down with stern, unchanging faces on the mother and her child, and one of them said, "The brand burns on the hearth, when it is burnt wholly, thy child shall die." But love is swifter than thought, and the mother snatched the burning brand from the fire, and quenched its flame in water, and she placed it in a secret place where no hand but her own might reach it.
So the child grew, brave of heart and sturdy of limb, and ever ready to hunt the wild beasts or to go against the cities of men. Many great deeds he did in the far-off Kolchian land, when the chieftains sailed with Athamas and Ino to take away the golden fleece from King Aietes. But there were greater things for him to do when he came again to Kalydon, for his father, Oineus, had roused the wrath of the mighty Artemis. There was rich banqueting in his great hall when his harvest was ingathered, and Zeus and all the other gods feasted on the fat burnt-offerings, but no gift was set apart for the virgin child of Leto. Soon she requited the wrong to Oineus, and a savage boar was seen in the land, which tore up the fruit-trees, and destroyed the seed in the ground, and trampled on the green corn as it came up. None dared to approach it, for its mighty tusks tore everything that crossed its path. Long time the chieftains took counsel what they should do, until Meleagros said, "I will go forth; who will follow me?" Then from Kalydon and from the cities and lands round about came mighty chieftains and brave youths, even as they had hastened to the ship, Argo, when they sought to win the golden fleece from Kolchis. With them came the Kouretes, who live in Pleuron, and among them were seen Kastor and Polydeukes, the twin brethren, and Theseus, with his comrade, Peirithoos, and Iason and Admetos. But more beautiful than all was Atalante, the daughter of Schoineus, a stranger from the Arcadian land. Much the chieftains sought to keep her from the chase, for the maiden's arm was strong, and her feet swift, and her aim sure, and they liked not that she should come from a far country to share their glory or take away their name. But Meleagros loved the fair and brave maiden, and said, "If she go not to the chase, neither will I go with you." So they suffered her, and the chase began. At first the boar fled, trampling down those whom he chanced to meet, and rending them with his tusks, but at last he stood fiercely at bay, and fought furiously, and many of the hunters fell, until at length the spear of Atalante pierced his side, and then Meleagros slew him.
Then was there great gladness as they dragged the body of the boar to Kalydon, and made ready to divide the spoil. But the anger of Artemis was not yet soothed, and she roused a strife between the men of Pleuron and the men of Kalydon. For Meleagros sought to have the head, and the Kouretes of Pleuron cared not to take the hide only for their portion. So the strife grew hot between them, until Meleagros slew the chieftain of the Kouretes, who was the brother of Althaia, his mother. Then he seized the head of the boar, and bare it to Atalante, and said, "Take, maiden, the spoils are rightly thine. From thy spear came the first wound which smote down the boar; and well hast thou earned the prize for the fleetness of thy foot and the sureness of thy aim."
So Atalante took the spoils and carried them to her home in the Arcadian land, but the men of Pleuron were full of wrath, and they made war on the men of Kalydon. Many times they fought, but in every battle the strong arm of Meleagros and his stout heart won the victory for the men of his own city, and the Kouretes began to grow faint in spirit, so that they quailed before the spear and sword of Meleagros. But presently Meleagros was seen no more with his people, and his voice was no longer heard cheering them on to the battle. No more would he take lance in hand or lift up his shield for the strife, but he tarried in his own house by the side of the beautiful Kleopatra, whom Idas, her father, gave to him to be his wife.