Who Is the Pegasus Rider?

The rider of the Pegasus, the winged horse, was Bellerophon, and the story went that he was given a golden bridle by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, that would allow Bellerophon to control the horse. Bellerophon waited by the pool where Pegasus would come to drink, and surprised the horse, slipping the bridle over its head. At once Pegasus became wholly docile. Thereafter, Bellerophon and Pegasus together were able to defeat the three headed chimera, which was destroying the countryside.

Each element of the story is a symbol in the pursuit of knowledge. Athena, or wisdom, provides the tools. The horse itself is the knowledge gained. Knowledge is then used to destroy the dangerous use of power, that is the chimera. And we, of course, are Bellerophon. We have the opportunities to ride our pegasi towards the accomplishment of our goals.

But there is another Bellerophon myth that is important to remember. The second story goes that Bellerophon, full of himself, decided to ride Pegasus up into the clouds to the top of Mount Olympus, where the gods dwelt. It was hubris, of course, that Bellerophon considered himself more than a man - and in answer, it was said that Zeus sent a tiny gadfly to bite Pegasus's flank. The gadfly bit, Pegasus kicked and Bellerophon fell to his death ... because it takes a very little thing to turn godlike delusions into dust.

I have long reflected on these two tales, and have long found myself relating to Bellerophon, in both his triumph over the chimera and his ultimate demise. For me personally, the chimera has always been those things standing between me and the writing I would like to be doing - things like a lack of talent, or knowledge, or opportunity. And that is why I am beginning this blog. I want to talk about those things, and about writing in general. I want the opportunity to talk about the structure of writing, and how that structure has been applied to books, plays and screenwriting. And perhaps I can both help myself and others to be better writers, to climb aboard Pegasus and fight our own chimeras, whatever they might be.

I am often asked how to write better. It only seems logical to write a blog about it.