CHIMERA, CHIMAIRA
Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
These are variations on the name of a monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The CHIMERA , also spelled CHIMAERA, means "goat"; and indeed, according to Greek poet Homer, it has the body of a gigantic goat, but with the hind parts of a serpent and front part and head of a lion. Sometimes it is portrayed, as is Hesiod's Theogeny, as having heads of all three of these animals arranged along it's back. The Chimera was said to be the progeny of the monstrous ECHIDNE and TYPHON, and it's siblings were CERBERUS the dog of the underworld, the NEMEAN LION, the serpent HYDRA, and the enigmatic SPHINX. Once the monstrous pet of the KING OF CARIA, it escaped and went on a rampage within the court. Then it inhabited the region of LYCIA (now Turkey), where it inflicted damage with its fiery breath and devoured every mortal thing that came its way. The terrified people called for it to be dealt with, and the ruler, IOBATES, sent for the hero BELLEROPHON. Mounted on the flying horse PEGASUS, the hero managed to thrust the point of his spear into the CHIMERA'S mouth, where its fiery breath melted it and choked the monster to death.
Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth