Chimera

lion, goat and serpent

The Chimera is a lion in front, a goat in the middle and a serpent at the rear and breathes fire.

💡 Did you know? From the Chimera's goat back a second, bleating head often protruded.

Bellerophon

The hero Bellerophon fought the Chimera from the air, riding Pegasus.

💡 Did you know? He killed it by thrusting a lump of lead into its maw, which melted in its fiery breath.

an illusion or impossible combination

A „chimera“ is an illusion, a fantasy or an unnatural mixture.

💡 Did you know? In biology a chimera is an organism made of cells with different genetic material.

she breathes fire

From the maw of the lion's head the Chimera breathes devastating fire.

💡 Did you know? With it she ravaged the land of Lycia in Asia Minor.

from the Greek

The Chimera is a monster of Greek myth, child of the monsters Typhon and Echidna.

💡 Did you know? So she is a sister of the hellhound Cerberus and the Hydra.

from the air with Pegasus

Only because he rode the winged Pegasus could Bellerophon escape the fiery breath.

💡 Did you know? He thrust a lump of lead into the Chimera's maw, which melted in the fire and choked her.

in Lycia

On the coast of today's south-western Turkey.

💡 Did you know? There the eternal flames of Yanartaş still burn from the rock.

Typhon and Echidna

The primal parents of many Greek monsters.

💡 Did you know? Cerberus and the Hydra are among her siblings.

an organism of genetically different cells

For instance after transplants or in breeding.

💡 Did you know? Grafted fruit trees are, strictly speaking, chimeras too.

with a lump of lead

On his lance's tip: her fiery breath melted the lead.

💡 Did you know? The molten metal burned her from within.

the ratfish

Deep-sea cartilaginous fish with large eyes.

💡 Did you know? Relatives of sharks, with an almost rabbit-like face.

in the Iliad

Homer: lion in front, goat in the middle, serpent behind.

💡 Did you know? One of the oldest monster descriptions in world literature.