and his heart was pure as the pure heart
of Artemis and Athene. None that were poor and weak and wretched
feared the might of Bellerophon. To them the sight of his beautiful
form brought only joy and gladness, but the proud and boastful, the
slanderer and the robber, dreaded the glance of his keen eye. But the
hand of Zeus lay heavy upon Bellerophon. He dwelt in the halls of King
Proetos, and served him even as Herakles served the mean and crafty
Eurystheus. For many long years Bellerophon knew that he must obey the
bidding of a man weaker than himself, but his soul failed him not, and
he went forth to his long toil with a heart strong as the sun when he
rises in his strength, and pure as the heart of a little child.

But Anteia, the wife of King Proetos, saw day by day the beauty of
Bellerophon, and she would not turn away her eye from his fair face.
Every day he seemed to her to be more and more like to the bright
heroes who feast with the gods in the halls of high Olympos, and her
heart became filled with love, and she sought to beguile Bellerophon
by her enticing words. But he hearkened not to her evil prayer, and
heeded not her tears and sighs; so her love was turned to wrath, and
she vowed a vow that Bellerophon should suffer a sore vengeance,
because he would not hear her prayer. Then, in her rage, she went to
King Proetos, and said, "Bellerophon, thy slave, hath sought to do me
wrong, and to lead me astray by his crafty words. Long time he strove
with me to win my love, but I would not hearken to him. Therefore, let
thine hand lie more heavy upon him than in time past, for the evil
that he hath done, and slay him before my face." Then was Proetos also
full of anger, but he feared to slay Bellerophon, lest he should bring
on himself the wrath of Zeus, his father. So he took a tablet of wood,
and on it he drew grievous signs of toil and war, of battles and
death, and gave it to Bellerophon to carry to the far-off Lykian land,
where the father of Anteia was King, and as he bade him farewell, he
said, "Show this tablet to the King of Lykia, and he will recompense
thee for all thy good deeds which thou hast done for me, and for the
people of Argos."

So Bellerophon went forth on his long wandering, and dreamed not of
the evil that was to befall him by the wicked craft of Anteia. On and
on he journeyed towards the rising of the sun, till he came to the
country of the Lykians. Then he went to the house of the King, wh