The Chimera is the fire-breathing monster with a lion’s body, a goat’s head, and a serpent’s tail.
In Greek mythology, the Chimera lived in Lycia, in Asia Minor, and was regarded as a hybrid monster born to Typhon and Echidna. Its standard form combines a lion at the front, a goat’s head rising from its back, and a tail ending in a snake’s head. Ancient artistic traditions varied, and some depictions gave the creature wings or altered which part breathed fire.
The hero Bellerophon was sent to kill the Chimera, usually with the aid of the winged horse Pegasus. By attacking from the air, Bellerophon avoided the monster’s flames and eventually defeated it. Homer presents the Chimera as a deadly scourge connected with Lycia, while later mythographers expand the details of its appearance.
The word “chimera” now also means an imagined hybrid or an unlikely combination, especially in science and medicine. It should not be confused with the Sphinx, which has a human head and lion’s body, or the Hydra, a many-headed serpent.