Chimera (mythology)

Chimera
The Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 BC (Musée du Louvre)
Abode	Lycia
Personal information
Parents	Typhon and Echidna
Siblings	Lernaean Hydra, Orthrus, Cerberus [a]
Consort	Orthrus[b]
Offspring	Nemean Lion, Sphinx[b]

According to Greek mythology,^[1] the Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimæra (/kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ-/ ky-MEER-ə, kih-; Ancient Greek: Xίμαιρα, romanized: Chímaira, lit. 'she-goat')^[2] was a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature from Lycia, Asia Minor, composed of different animal parts. It is usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat protruding from its back, occasionally depicted with dragon's wings, and a tail that might end with a snake's head.^[3] It was an offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of monsters like Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

The term "chimera" has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals, to describe anything composed of disparate parts or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling. In other words, a chimera can be any hybrid creature.

In figurative use, derived from the mythological meaning, "chimera" refers to an unrealistic, or unrealisable, wild, foolish or vain dream, notion or objective.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).