In Perseus, Bellerophon, and Heracles we have three heroes renowned for monster-killing. Perseus slew the Gorgon Medusa; Bellerophon killed the Chimaera; and Heracles destroyed several monsters, including the Hydra. Yet each is distinct. Perseus is both elegant and impulsive, a man of loyalty to his family and friends, a dangerous foe to those who cross him, and a person blessed by the gods to perform one great deed. Bellerophon is violent and reckless, a killer who has the good luck to tame Pegasus and thereby achieve all his successes. But the source of his triumphs is also the means of his downfall, for Pegasus throws him in attempting to reach Olympus. Heracles, too, is violent and reckless, but he has the grace to repent his wicked acts and to expiate them through arduous work. Lacking in real intelligence, Heracles must earn his heroism through sheer strength and skill. He is masculinity gone wild, begetting about eighty sons on various women, killing monsters, tyrants, and ordinary men alike, mastering savage creatures, and paying for his crimes with years of service.
One feature common to these stories is that each hero is obligated to some king when he performs his greatest acts. Perseus, Bellerophon, and Heracles gain their heroic laurels from necessity, because they are pledged to it and because their sense of honor demands it. Honor is naturally the driving force behind heroism, but it can also lead a man to rash criminal acts. Bellerophon ascending Olympus and Heracles killing Iphitus are examples of heroes violating the limits of human decency through pride. The Greeks were always aware of this double side to the hero, for it recurs many times in their myths.
