Chimera

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MythologyBefore ChristGreek Antiquity — the world of myths and heroes

Monster from Greek mythology, born of Typhon and Echidna. A flame-breathing hybrid creature, she was slain by the hero Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus.

Key Facts

Daughter of Typhon and Echidna, two of the most fearsome monsters in Greek mythology
A hybrid body: lion's head, goat's body, serpent's or dragon's tail
Capable of breathing fire, she laid waste to Lycia (Asia Minor)
Slain by the hero Bellerophon, riding the winged horse Pegasus, using a spear tipped with lead melted by her own breath
First mentioned in Homer's Iliad (Book VI)

Works & Achievements

Homer's Iliad (Book VI) (vers -750)

The first written mention of the Chimera in world literature. Homer briefly but precisely describes the monster's anatomy and the context of the feat performed by Bellerophon, son of Glaucus.

Hesiod's Theogony (vers -700)

Hesiod establishes the complete genealogy of the Greek monsters, placing the Chimera among the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, alongside the Lernaean Hydra, Cerberus, and the Sphinx. This text is the definitive mythological source.

Pindar's Thirteenth Olympian Ode (-476)

Pindar celebrates Bellerophon's feat of riding Pegasus to slay the Chimera in this victory ode. The poem is one of the most lyrical evocations of the myth in classical Greek literature.

Apollodorus's Library (II, 3) (Ier-IIe siècle apr. J.-C.)

Apollodorus compiles the most complete account of the Chimera myth, detailing her birth, her devastation of Lycia, and her defeat at the hands of Bellerophon. This mythological encyclopedia remains an essential reference for historians.

Chimera of Arezzo (Etruscan sculpture) (IVe siècle av. J.-C.)

A masterpiece of Etruscan bronze sculpture, discovered in Arezzo in 1553 and now held at the National Archaeological Museum of Florence. The statue depicts a wounded, roaring Chimera and stands as one of the most expressive representations of the monster.

Ovid's Metamorphoses (8 apr. J.-C.)

Ovid incorporates the Chimera into his monumental work tracing Greco-Roman myths, ensuring the myth's transmission to the Roman world and to medieval and Renaissance generations.

Anecdotes

The Chimera is one of the strangest creatures in Greek mythology: it has the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a venomous serpent. This combination of three terrifying animals symbolized, for the Ancients, the chaotic and uncontrollable forces of wild nature.

King Iobates of Lycia sent Bellerophon to fight the Chimera with the secret hope that the monster would kill him. It was a suicide mission disguised as a heroic quest, for the Chimera had already ravaged the entire region, breathing fire upon villages and livestock.

Without Pegasus, the famous winged horse, Bellerophon could never have defeated the Chimera. By fighting from the air, he stayed out of reach of the deadly flames and could strike the creature from above, where it was most vulnerable.

According to one version of the myth recorded by the ancient author Tzetzes, Bellerophon attached a lump of lead to the tip of his spear. By plunging it into the Chimera's flaming maw, the intense heat melted the metal, which poured down the monster's throat and suffocated it.

The word 'chimera' has entered the English language to describe a wild fantasy, an impossible illusion, or an unachievable scheme. This shift in meaning shows just how deeply the mythological monster impressed the Ancients: like the Chimera itself, some dreams seem forever out of reach.

Primary Sources

Iliad, Book VI (c. 750 BCE)

She was of divine descent, not human: in front, a lion; behind, a serpent; in the middle, a goat, and she breathed the fierce force of blazing fire.

Hesiod's Theogony (c. 700 BCE)

Echidna also bore the terrible, great Chimera who breathes raging fire, terrible and great and swift-footed and strong. She had three heads, one of a grim-faced lion, one of a goat, and one of a serpent, a powerful dragon.

Pindar's Olympian XIII (476 BCE)

He tamed the fire-breathing monster, the Chimera, riding upon Pegasus.

Apollodorus' Library, II, 3 (1st–2nd century CE)

The Chimera was raised by Amisodarus, as mentioned in the Iliad. She was a divine creature with the head of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and in the middle, that of a goat, and she breathed fire.

Ovid's Metamorphoses, IX (c. 8 CE)

The Chimera, armed with fire in the middle, a lion at the front, a serpent at the tail.

Key Places

Lycia (present-day southern Turkey)

A region of Asia Minor where the Chimera wreaked havoc according to myth, devastating the countryside and terrorizing its inhabitants. King Iobates of Lycia sent Bellerophon to fight the monster and rid his kingdom of this scourge.

Corinth (Greece)

The hometown of Bellerophon, the hero who defeated the Chimera. It was here that he tamed Pegasus using a golden bridle given to him by the goddess Athena, before setting out on his quest.

Mount Olympus

The home of the Greek gods and the symbolic birthplace of great heroic myths. The Olympian gods — notably Athena and Poseidon — intervene in the fate of Bellerophon and his battles against monsters.

Arezzo (Italy)

The city where the famous Chimera of Arezzo was discovered in 1553 — an Etruscan bronze statue dating from the 4th century BCE. This masterpiece bears witness to how widely the myth of the Chimera spread beyond the boundaries of the Greek world.