Chimera | Mythic Creature

Chimera (Greek: Χίμαιρα, transl.: Chímaira) is a mystical figure characterized by a hybrid appearance of two or more animals and the ability to throw fire from the nostrils, thus being a mythological beast or beast.

Origin and evolution

Originating in Anatolia and whose type appeared in Greece during the 7th century BC, it has always exerted an attraction on the popular imagination. According to the most widespread version of the legend, the chimera was a monstrous product of the union between Echidna - half woman, half serpent - and the gigantic Typhon.

Other legends make her the daughter of the hydra of Lerna and the lion of Nemeia, killed by Hercules. Created by the king of Caria, she would later ravage this kingdom and that of Lycia by incessantly puffing fire, until the hero Bellerophon, riding the winged horse Pegasus, succeeded in killing her.

Over time, every fantastic monster employed in architectural decoration was generically called a chimera.

In Alchemy, it is an artificial being (as well as the homunculus), created from the fusion of a human and animal.lacks sources.

In Botany, it is when a plant is made up of several genetically distinct tissues. In Genetics, it is when an organism is formed by two genetic lineages, each originating from a distinct organism.

In Zoology, there is a fish called the Antarctic Chimera, which usually inhabits deep waters in the regions of Argentina and Uruguay.

Figuratively or in broader popular language, the term chimera alludes to any fantastic, absurd, monstrous or incoherent composition, consisting of nonsensical or incongruous elements, also meaning utopia. The word chimera, by derivation of meaning, also means the product of the imagination, a dream or fantasy (e.g. The Golden Chimera).

Appearance

Its appearance is variously described in the various mythological narratives or in the fine arts. For example:

Head of a lion, tail of a dragon, and body of a goat.
It throws fire through its nostrils and has a serpent's tail and a lion's tail.
It would have two wings, similar to those of a dragon, attached to its lion body. Although it apparently does not fly, some legends or mythology mention the fact that it can fly.

Current

After the Middle Ages, with the expansion of the idea of the dragon, the chimera lost space. Visibly, of course in Catholic Churches today, with St. George slaying a Dragon replacing Bellerophon and the chimera.