The stories featured in Greak-ing Out are original adaptations of classic Greak myths. This makes Story Features' weapons of war, hubris, tactical retreats, and the death of a hero. Greak-ing Out, the greatest stories in history. We're told in Greak mythology. Greak-ing Out, gods and heroes, amazing feats. Listen, then you'll see it's Greak-ing Out. Welcome back to Greak-ing Out, everybody. We have the second part of a two-parter going on now. We're telling the story of Balaraphon and the flying horse Pegasus. So, to recap, Balaraphon has gotten himself into a jam. He was in such a pickle that... Okay, all right, you know what? He was in trouble. How about that? Is that better? Yes, thank you. Okay, good. All right, now, quick recap. Pegasus threw a guy from a horse, accidentally killing the guy, Balaraphon witnesses it, and now everybody's mad at Balaraphon somehow and not his murderous demi-god horse brother. But anyway, King Iobodies had told Balaraphon that if he did three heroic deeds, then the slate would be wiped clean. He would be forgiven. So the young hero was eager to take on these tasks, not only to write the wrongs, but also to kind of prove himself as a hero. The first task, defeat the deadly chimera, which was a fire-breathing animal with a lion's head, a venomous snake for tail, and... Well, there's also a goat head going out of its stomach, it's back, and anyway, Balaraphon was able to defeat the dreaded chimera, and King Iobodies had to figure out another way to get the young demi-god killed. That's right, King Iobodies thought Balaraphon was the worst kind of criminal and was doing that thing where you tried to kill somebody by asking them to do really dangerous things. Your next task... The King proclaimed when Balaraphon had returned exhausted from fighting a mythical beast. Is to defeat the sole enemy human. They are dangerous and they live near our northern border. This was a little less clear as heroic tasks go. Vanquishing a monster that was terrorizing the countryside was pretty clear-cut, but becoming a weapon of war, that was a little more ambiguous. ambiguous can mean unclear or inexact, or not obviously one thing or another. This task is not very clearly a good thing to do. But Balaraphon had to make a man's and he wanted to be a hero, so he did what he was asked. With Pegasus and Balaraphon on the scene, Iobodies saw that he had a new weapon and an advantage, and he used it. Although his goal was originally to kill Balaraphon, Iobodies figured that he might as well take out a few of his enemies along the way. And it turned out to be a much longer task. More like a full-time job. Iobodies and his people had been battling back and forth with the neighboring Salimi's for a long time, and those Salimi's were brave and ferocious fighters who were hard to defeat. They didn't have sophisticated weapons or armor, but they had so many warriors that they had overpowered Iobodies and men many times. But the Salimi's had not expected to be attacked from the sky. They couldn't overwhelm a soldier who would just fly away. There were many battles and skirmishes, but eventually the Salimi's were forced to return to the north, and Balaraphon had completed another task for King Iobodies. The King was happy to hear that the Salimi's had retreated, but he was getting a little worried about how hard killing Balaraphon was turning out to be. He was almost out of ideas when fate stepped in. A breathless messenger stumbled into the court to inform the King that Laquia had been invaded by a group of legendary Amazon warriors. But experts still do not have definitive proof that they existed. Without a word, Balaraphon sighed and stood up. He walked over to where Pegasus was grazing and climbed back up into the saddle on the mighty winged stallion. Both the man and the horse gave a little nod to the King, and then they leaped into the sky in search of yet another chance to prove themselves heroes. This time, King Iobodies sent one of his spies to follow along as best they could. He wanted to know the outcome of the battle as soon as possible. While the Amazon's were just as surprised as the Salimi's to see a man on a flying horse challenge them, but they were more skilled and better equipped. Balaraphon ducked just in time to narrowly avoid a javelin thrown with more force than he'd ever seen. He notched his bow and began to rain arrows down upon the Amazon's from the sky. Balaraphon had become quite skilled as an archer by this point, and the Amazon's had no answer for that kind of firepower. Their arrows and spears were either dodged or harmlessly blown off target by the flying horse's massive beating wings. The Amazon's quickly realized this wasn't just a battle they couldn't win. It was one they couldn't really even fight. Still, they persevered until their quivers were empty of arrows and all of their spears were lost or broken. If you know anything about Amazon's, you know this is very on brand for them. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't actually even have a word for quit in their language. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, the Amazon warriors decided to retreat, and Balaraphon and Pegasus were victorious once again. When his spy brought him this news, King Iobodies was frustrated. He had no more chances to try and kill Balaraphon, and Balaraphon for sure had to die. He read his son-in-law's letter again, detailing all the criminal things Balaraphon had done and was satisfied that he was doing the right thing. This letter, sent to Iobodies, is arguably the first reference to letter writing described in all of ancient Greece. Homer talks about it in the Iliad. Wait, hold on. The first letter ever? Really? It's not even clear it was a letter, but he says proteus sent dire signs having written in a folded tablet many soul-destroying things. Whoa, soul-destroying things is pretty intense. It's all over the top. Well, you can imagine how determined King Iobodies was to see Balaraphon dead, and if King Iobodies wanted to see Balaraphon dead, he was just going to have to do it himself. The only chance he had was the element of surprise. And with that, I think this is a good place for a commercial break. I mean, not that there's ever really a good place for a commercial break, but if there was to be a good place, this would probably be it. Anyway, we'll be back in a little bit. Just take a break. Patrick, let's go! The clue is floating away in the hot air balloon! Hey, sorry, this is kind of a bad time. Clarenisers found a major clue, and now it's airborne. Anyway, I want to let you know that the parents behind law and order have something brand new for families. Our podcast, Patrick Picklebottom, Everyday Mysteries. Patrick, it's headed towards the water tower. Gotta go! Listen on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey parents, wondering what to get your kids this holiday season? Have you considered books? Books are eco-friendly, lightweight, and portable vehicles of knowledge that can last a lifetime. You can use them as decorations for your rooms, hold them on zoom calls, and even read them to gain priceless knowledge. And you know who has some great books? National Geographic and National Geographic Kids, check them out at your local bookstore or wherever books are sold. Okay, and now back to more greaking out. Late that night, Pegas has touched down in the courtyard of the King's Palace, and Balarifan, weary and sore from battle, climbed down from a saddle. There were only a few torches lit, but Balarifan thought he could make out a group of soldiers standing by the stables. He raised a hand in a friendly wave, but instead of a wave back, the soldier threw something at the pair. It was a rope and a hook, and then someone threw another, and again another, and in a few seconds there was a rope around Pegasus' neck holding him to the ground, and Balarifan found himself surrounded by soldiers from the King's elite guard. He had been ambushed. The King's Guard had a good strategy for the attack. They thought they would win the battle if they kept Pegas from flying. They wouldn't have to worry about an attack from above if they kept the horse on the ground. But they weren't prepared for how well Pegasus could fight, which is weird considering all of this was happening because Pegasus had actually thrown someone to their death not too long ago, but whatever. Pegasus was held fast by the ropes with 10 men on the other end, keeping him from taking flight. So rather than fight the ropes, he took on the soldiers too. He kicked with his legs, sending the King's Guard flying, and he used his mighty wingspan to push them back again and again. The force of the average horse's kick is estimated to be 2000 psi, or pounds of force per square inch, with a speed of about 200 miles per hour. The force of a demigod horse kick has never been measured. Balarifan had grown into a great fighter in his own right. Though he'd been untested at the start, he'd killed a mythical creature and fought in two wars at this point. So even exhausted as he was, he still managed to fight back, besting soldier after soldier as they tried to bring him down. When it was all over, there was no one left standing, but the demigod and his magnificent horse, who was also a demigod. There was no doubt now that Balarifan and Pegasus were thornified heroes. King Iobadi saw that clearly. As he watched the battle unfold from his balcony, the King began to realize how wrong he had been, and how much he had misjudged Balarifan. This young man was clearly favored by the gods, and that favor would not have been given to someone who had truly behaved the way his son-in-law had described in this letter. When the King stepped into the courtyard, Balarifan reached for his sword. His arms were heavy, and he was out of breath, but he would fight if he had to. The King begged his arms out in a peaceful gesture. Reluctantly, Balarifan lowered his sword and let Iobadi speak. King Iobadi started from the top and told Balarifan everything. What was in the letter? The lies from King Proteus about the murder of the messenger. Everything. Well, the King knew that apologies were just words, so he decided to find another way to make amends. Iobadi's offered Balarifan half of the kingdom of Laikia, including the part with the best farmlands. He also suggested a marriage between Balarifan and his daughter Philanoni. Balarifan considered this offer carefully and spoke with Philanoni about the offer. Eventually, he decided to accept, and he married the beautiful Philanoni and became a King. As it turns out, Balarifan really was a good King and a great warrior. Over time, his kingdom became a peaceful and prosperous place to live, and he was loved by his subjects and his family. He ruled his lands for a while, and everyone always told him how much of a great hero he was. In fact, they said he was such a great hero that he belonged with the greatest hero of all time, Heracles. But Heracles wasn't on Earth. He was on Mount Olympus with the gods. In fact, Balarifan fought one day. That's where I deserve to be too. Why hadn't the gods recognized how amazing he was? Why hadn't Zeus welcomed him on to Mount Olympus yet? The question nagged at him until one day. He was walking his grounds and he saw Pegasus flying through the air. And that's when he got an idea. It was a really, really, really, really bad idea, as it turns out. But at the time, it made all the sense in the world to Balarifan. If the gods would not invite him to Mount Olympus, he would invite himself. He would fly Pegasus all the way up to the realm of the gods. This is a pretty perfect definition of hubris or excessive pride that is often punished by the gods. Yeah, unfortunately for Balarifan, he was about to find out what the consequences of hubris can be. As he fixed the saddle to Pegasus, Balarifan could see the concern in his old friend's eyes. Not to worry, oh boy, he reassured the horse. I will be welcomed at Olympus, who is more deserving than me to be among the gods. Well, if you followed along with any of these stories, you can guess how this is going to end. And Pegasus could too. He bucked and reared a bit as Balarifan climbed onto his back, but the rider held fast, and soon the pair were soaring above the clouds, headed right for the gates of Mount Olympus. Naturally, Zeus had heard all of this and was not happy about it at all. He thinks he belongs here among the gods. Zeus exclaimed angrily, a few flights on a flying horse and all of a sudden he's as good as Zeus. He reached for his thunderbolts, preparing to knock the hero off his horse and out of the sky, but it was Athena and Poseidon who stayed his hand. Poseidon tried to convince Zeus that Balarifan meant no offense. He was just curious, and Athena pointed out that Pegasus would look really good pulling Zeus's chariot. He said the king of the gods, I will not strike him down with my phone. The other gods breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed for a moment until Zeus said, but who can tell what a ghastly will do? And then he opened his hand and released a tiny fly into the sky. Ghastfly is another term for a fly that bites animals and livestock such as a horse fly or bot fly. It can also be used to describe an annoying person that's always around. Balarifan, meanwhile, was ecstatic. The air felt warm and sweet, and he could see the gates of Olympus off in the distance. As he urged Pegasus to go higher and faster, he heard the horse suddenly cry out in pain. Without warning, the horse bucked and threw his rider off into the sky. As he fell back to earth, Balarifan caught a quick but clear glimpse of Pegasus' sad eyes before he plunged beneath the clouds. You might have thought that was the end for Balarifan, but the gods weren't going to let him get away that easy. He actually survived the fall, but was unable to walk and unable to see. He wandered the earth for the rest of his days looking for his beloved friend Pegasus. Pegasus, meanwhile, did make it to Olympus, where Zeus totally stole Athena's idea and used him to pull his chariot. That's it for this episode of Greaking Out and the story of Balarifan. Come back next week for some creative goddesses. National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Jillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis, and hosted by Kenny Curtis. With Tori Curr is the Oracle of Wi-Fi, Audio Production and Sound Design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Grip. Dr. Diane Klein is our subject matter expert, Emily Burkett, Lori Bota, and Juliana Skiavo, our producers and Emily Everhart is our senior producer.
