Chimera (mythology)

According to Greek mythology, the Chimera, also known as Chimaera, Chimæra, or Khimaira, was a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature from Lycia in Asia Minor. It was made up of parts from different animals. Most often, it is shown as a lion with a goat’s head coming out of its back and a tail that ends in a snake’s head. Some pictures also give it dragon’s wings.

The Chimera was said to be the child of two very dangerous monsters, Typhon and Echidna. It had siblings like Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. Today, the word "chimera" is used to talk about any made-up or mythical creature that has parts from many different animals.

Mythology

According to Hesiod, the Chimera was the child of two powerful monsters, though the exact parents are not always clear. Some stories say its mother was Echidna and its father was Typhon. Other stories suggest different parents, but many agree on this pair.

Homer described the Chimera in the Iliad, saying it had three heads: a lion in front, a fire-breathing goat in the middle, and a serpent at the back. It could breathe fire, which made it very dangerous.

In one story, the hero Bellerophon was asked by the king of Lycia to defeat the Chimera, hoping the monster would be too hard for Bellerophon. However, Bellerophon succeeded with the help of his winged horse, Pegasus. He flew high and brought the Chimera down from above.

Iconography

The Chimera, a monster from stories, was mostly shown in Greek art even though it was said to live in a faraway place called Lycia. Artists started drawing the Chimera very early on, and it became one of the first myth characters to appear in pictures made by Greek artists. Over time, the way it was drawn changed a little, but it became a popular design used by many artists. Some special artists even got names like the Bellerophon Painter and the Chimaera Painter because they drew the Chimera so often.

Similar creatures

In Ancient Egypt, a lioness that breathed fire was an important symbol, linked to gods who protected the land. In Etruscan civilization, the Chimera appeared in paintings from long ago. Far away in the Indus Valley Civilisation, people also made images of creatures like the Chimera using animals from their part of the world, the Indian subcontinent. These were called the Harappan Chimera.

Classical sources

The stories about the Chimera appear in several old books and poems. You can find them in the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, the Iliad by Homer, the Fabulae by Hyginus, the Metamorphoses by Ovid, and the Theogony by Hesiod.

The poet Virgil also used the name Chimaera in the Aeneid to describe a big ship in a race.

Hypothesis about origin

Main article: Mount Chimaera

Pliny the Elder talked about how the story of the Chimera might have started from a real place. There are places with natural fires on the ground in Turkey. These fires come from gas coming out of the earth and have been there for a very long time. People in the past used these fires to help guide ships.

A very old stone statue from a place called Carchemish, made around 850–750 BC, shows a creature similar to the Chimera. This statue is now kept in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. It looks different from the Greek story, with a lioness that has wings and a human head on its shoulders.

Use for Chinese mythological creatures

Some scholars who study Chinese art, beginning with Victor Segalen, use the word "chimera" to talk about special winged animals or mixed animals with four legs. These include creatures like the bixie, the tianlu, and the qilin.

In popular culture

In many popular stories and books, the idea of the Chimera is used in different ways. In Heraldry, the Chimera is pictured with a lion's head and front legs, a goat's head coming out of its back, the middle part of its body looking like a goat, the back part like a dragon, and a tail that ends in a snake's head. You can find creatures like this in fantasy and science fiction stories today.