Chimera (mythology)

For other uses of this word, see Chimera.

In Greek mythology, the Chimera (Greek Χίμαιρα (μυθολογία); Latin Chimaera) is a monstrous creature made of the parts of multiple animals. Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Descriptions vary – some say it had the body of a goat, the tail of a snake or dragon and the head of a lion, though others say it had heads of both the goat and lion, with a snake for a tail. It is generally considered to have been female, despite the mane adorning its lion's head. All descriptions, however, agree that it breathed fire from one or more of its heads. Sighting the chimera was a sign of storms, shipwrecks, and natural disasters (particularly volcanos). In Medieval Christian art, the chimera appears as a symbol of Satanic forces.

While there are different genealogies, in one version it mated with its brother Orthrus and mothered the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion.

Chimera was finally defeated by Bellerophon with the help of Pegasus, the winged horse, at the command of King Iobates of Lycia. There are varying descriptions of its death – some say merely that Bellerophon ran it through with his spear, whereas others say that he fitted his spear point with lead that melted when exposed to Chimera's fiery breath and consequently killed it. Another story is that Bellerophon chopped off the three heads of the Chimera, and it fell to the ground dead.

The myths of the Chimera can be found in Apollodorous' Library (book 1), Virgil's Aeneid (book 6), Homer's Iliad (book 6), Ovid's Metamorphoses (book VI 339; IX 648) and Hesiod's Theogony.

Theory about origin

Ctesias (as cited by Pliny the Elder and quoted by Photius) identified the Chimaera with an area of permanent gas vents which can still be found today by hikers on the Lycian Way in southwest Turkey. Called in Turkish Yanartaş (flaming rock), it consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of Hephaistos about 3 km north of Çıralı, near ancient Olympos, in Lycia. The vents emit burning methane thought to be of metamorphic origin, which in ancient times sailors could navigate by, and which today is used to brew tea. (Strabo held the Chimaera to be a ravine on a different mountain in Lycia.) ^*

Chimera in Popular Culture

In an episode of The Godzilla Power Hour an ancient Greek island re-appears in the Earth dimension after 1,000 years, crew the crew open the doors to a chamber against the warnings of Sirens, they release a Chimera. After Siren's leader Morphea exclaims that not even the Sirens can control the Chimera, the crew summons Godzilla, who easily defeats the Chimera by shoving her back into her chamber. After determined to make the crew stay on the island, Morphea engages in an elaborate plan to gain control of the Chimera: physically merging herself and her two sisters into one giant being, Morphea then merges them with the Chimera, finally gaining control of the fire-spitting beast and causing her to grow larger than Godzilla. As Godzilla and the Chimera/Siren hybrid grapple with each other, the Godzilla manages to make the mythological beast fall off of a huge cliff into the water below.
In the 7th season of the show X-Files there was an episode titled Chimera.
In the 7th season of the show Deep Space Nine there was an episode titled Chimera.
In the 7th season of the show Stargate SG-1 there was an episode titled Chimera.
In the movie Impossible II Chimera was the deadly virus upon which the plot was based.
Chimera is also a type of unit in the game Warcraft III.
In the video game Resident Evil the chimera is an insect-like creature which hangs from ceilings.
Chimeras are featured in the Harry Potter series.
Chimaira is a Metal band from Ohio.
The Caldari State's carrier in the MMORPG EVE Online is code-named "Chimera"
In Fullmetal Alchemist, a Chimera is two or more animals (including humans) joined together by Alchemy.
In the arcade game Magic Sword, the player encounters a chimera at several key locations.
In the video game series Golden Sun, the Chimera appears numerous times; first as a pair of bosses on Crossbone Isle, then as a normal enemy under the names Chimera Mage and, in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the stronger Grand Chimera. All forms are Mars(Fire) creatures, and have a goat's body, a snake for a tail, and the head of a lion and an eagle instead of knees on their forelegs.
In the roleplaying game D&D, the chimera is an evil-aligned creature which looks like a lion with leathery wings on its back. To either side of its lion's head is the head of a goat and the head of a dragon.
In the video game Resistance: Fall Of Man, the monstrous creatures of the game that come in many forms are called Chimera
In a few episode of Digimon as Chimeramon, a digimon created out of several strong other digimon
In the video game Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, there are random creature encounters that are Chimera. They have a bird head, snake tail, and have what appears to be somewhat like a bull's upright body. To attack, they use a combination of elements(fire, water, lightning).
- Also, in the game Final Fantasy IV, Chimera are also random creature encounters. They have heads of a lion, goat, and drgon, atop a goat's body. It attacks with Blaze.
The fourth book of the "The Well Of Echoes" quartet by australian fantasy-writer Ian Irvine is entitled "Chimaera". One of its characters is a blending of human and alien (Lyrinx) species. This Chimaera has unique abillities to shape-shift by "flesh-forming" its body.
In the video game Dark Legacy, the boss of the Castle realm is the Chimera. It has three heads, of a lion, eagle, and snake, which breathe fire, lightning, and acid, respectively, on a lion's body with eagle's wings.

Indo-European mythology | Greek mythology | Mythological hybrids

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Theory about origin

See also

Chimera in Popular Culture