Madam Mythos

Mediterranean

Chimeara

The hero Bellerophon was commanded by King Iobates to slay the beast. He rode into battle on the back of the winged horse Pegasos and drove a lead-tipped lance into its flaming throat, choking the beast on molten metal.
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Origins

Ancient Greek folklore

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Lycia

Slayer

Bellophan, aided by Pegasus

The Legend

The Chimera was the daughter of Echidne, a fierce serpentine woman, and Typhon, a fire-breathing giant. Her siblings were Orthus, the Sphinx, Cereberus, Scylla, Gorgon, the Hydra, the Nemean lion and a few other assorted monsterous creatures. According to the Aeneid, the Chimera was native to Lycia and could breathe fire. She took after her father in that way.

Physical Description

The Chimera was first described in Homer’s Iliiad as having a lion’s head, a goat’s abdomen and a serpant’s tail.
However, an alternate description comes from Hesiod’s Theogony and a fifth century Arezzo bronze sculpture. These pieces depict the Chimera as having a lion head at one end, a goat’s head in the middle and a snake’s head at the other end.

  1. Oxford Companion to World Mythology. David Leeming

  2. The Book of Imaginary Beings. Jorges Borges

  3. The Mythology Podcast MPC 007: Greek Monsters