The Chimera.
Fire in a body of many beasts
The Chimera: Greek Fire-Breathing Monster Slain by Bellerophonis a fire-breathing creature that combines a lion, goat, and serpent. Sent against it as though on a death sentence, survives with the aid of .
More than a myth.
What does the Chimera look like?
describes a creature with a lion’s front, a goat’s middle, and a serpent’s rear, breathing fire. Later accounts and images make the components visible in different arrangements, including a goat’s head rising from the back. The mixed anatomy turns several familiar dangers into one impossible body.
Why Bellerophon must fight it
A king in Lycia sends against the Chimera as part of an attempt to have him killed indirectly. The assignment follows the false accusation that drove him from Proetus’s court. The monster is thus placed within a human chain of concealed intentions, making the combat a consequence of royal intrigue.
Pegasus and the aerial attack
The describes confronting the Chimera from the winged horse . Flight changes the conditions of combat against a creature that destroys the countryside with fire. The familiar pairing is Bellerophon and Pegasus; substituting borrows the hero from the horse’s birth story and gives him an adventure belonging to someone else.
Questions about The Chimera
What animals make up the Chimera?
A lion, goat, and serpent are its characteristic components. Ancient images and descriptions differ in the exact arrangement.
Who kills the Chimera?
, riding in the ’s account. Divine help and the horse’s flight make the otherwise lethal assignment survivable.
It’s a family affair.
The stories of The Chimera.
Ancient voices.
Enduring stories.
Myths have many tellings. These are the ancient works behind this profile, linked to freely available English translations.
Iliad
Book 6.179–183
Library
Book 2.3.1–2