Chimaera

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THE CHIMAERA


THE CHIMAERA

She was of divine race, not of men, in the fore part a lion, in the hinder a serpent, and in the middle a goat, breathing forth in terrible manner the force of blazing fire. And Bellerophon slew her, trusting the signs of the gods.
Homer, Iliad 6.181

The Chimaera who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift footed and strong, who had three heads, one of grim-eyed lion, another of a goat, and another of a serpent. In her forepart she was a lion; in her hinderpart a dragon; and in her middle part, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Her did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay.
Hesiod, Theogony 319



The Chimaera was a fire-breathing she-goat with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a serpent's tail. This unlikely beast was the product of a union between the equally hideous monsters Typhon and Echidne.

Echidne bore a particularly dreadful brood to Typhon: along with the Chimaera, the two of them produced Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hades; Orthrus, the two-headed hound of Geryon; the Sphinx, who had a woman's head, lion's body, serpent's tail, and eagle's wings; and the Hydra, a multi-headed water serpent. The Chimaera and her siblings comprised some of the most feared monsters in Greek mythology.

(It should be noted that in some versions of the Sphinx story, it is suggested that its parents were the Chimaera and Orthrus.)

This dreaded monster took up residence in a place called Lycia and caused great havoc, killing and terrorizing all the neighboring area. In due time, the hero called Bellerophon, riding the winged horse Pegasus, challenged this beast.