Iliad

"When he reached the river Xanthos , which is in Lycia , the king received him with all goodwill, feasted him nine days, and killed nine heifers in his honor, but when rosy-fingered morning appeared upon the tenth day, he questioned him and desired to see the written signs [ sêmata ] from his son-in-law Proetus. When he had received the wicked written signs [ sêmata ] he first commanded Bellerophon to kill that savage monster, the Chimaera, who was not a human being, but a goddess, for she had the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent, while her body was that of a goat, and she breathed forth flames of fire; but Bellerophon slew her, for he was guided by signs from heaven. He next fought the far-famed Solymoi, and this, he said, was the hardest of all his battles.

IliadBook 6, Line 172Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 6

HomerProseID iliad-iliad-butler-en-prose-6-172