Chimaera

=Chimera= by John Begen & Damian Murberg

^Chimera accurate according to Greek mythology (famous sculpture of the "Auditory Chimera" on the right)^

The Chimera is a fire-breathing female creature from Greek mythology. Greek sculptures and other artwork depict the chimera as a fire-breathing lion with a snake for a tail and a goat's head protruding from its mid-back. In Greek mythology, the Chimera was born to Typhon and Echidna. Although the term "Chimera" is sometimes used to describe any odd combination of animals, it most often refers to the lion/goat/snake.

^modern Chimera (upper left Chimera as seen in God of War III)^

However, in modern artwork and media, the Chimera is often portrayed as having three heads: one lion (center head), one dragon, and one goat. In this case, the dragon head has the fire-breathing ability. The dragon also brings wings to the table, making the Chimera that much more dangerous. The modern Chimera has only the front legs and upper body of a lion, and its hind legs are that of the goat. It still maintains its ancient snake tail, however the dragon seems to take away respect of the goat and snake parts.

^I drew this^

My Chimera, as pictured above, is based mostly on the Chimera from God of War III. I thought the location of the goats head in the original Greek design was impractical, but I thought the goat should play a role considering it is a Greek beast so I kept the horns, goatee, and hind legs. I decided only to keep the dragon's wings because the ability to fly is really cool, but there wasn't a dragon included in the Greek myth. I thought the three heads made the Chimera too much like the Cerberus or the Hydra.

The Chimera in Media

Video Games:

Resistance: Fall of Man Resistance II God of War III

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