Jon Solo Sebastian 08/16/2024:

Have you ever heard of the Chimera? I’m not talking about the band (spelled differently) from my hometown of Cleveland, or a popular starship from Star Wars (also spelled differently), but I am talking about the creepy she-goat monster from Greek mythology that breathes fire. The chimera is more than just a fire breathing she-goat, though. It’s one of very few famous mythological creatures that we could consider hybrids. The Pegasus, Minotaur, and Griffin are examples of creatures made up of real world animals. The chimera is made up of goat, lion, and dragon or snake. The depictions of the chimera are things nightmares are made of, which is why I absolutely love it!

Where does the “she-goat” title come from? Well, the word chimera comes from the Greek word Χίμαιρα, which translates to she-goat. The word is also loosely used to describe something imaginary or fantastical in fictional storytelling. An example of this “is often used in television shows and role-playing games, usually as an obstacle for players to overcome. Thus, the chimera represents the most dangerous beast that the human imagination can conjure, taking those attributes of existing creatures to develop a new creation that is more difficult to overcome. The role of such creatures has thus been to challenge the hero to use bravery and strength in order to achieve victory.”

What is the Chimera’s Role in Greek Mythology?

The folktale is your basic soap opera scenario. Anteia cheated on her husband, King Proetus with Bellerophon, the son of Poseidon. Bellerophon broke it off with her afterwards, and Anteia was emotionally hurt, and enraged, so she told the king that Bellerophon dishonored her and that he should die for it. The king sent him away instead, where he wound up the captor of another king who sought a different type of punishment. Send him to the Chimera.

Here’s where it goes a little video game-y. That’s not a bad thing, by the way. I find stories like this to be cliché, but also fun, if done well. Bellerophon is sent on a mission to slay the unslayable chimera. His reward, if he defeats the beast would be his freedom. The King of Lycia, Bellerophon’s latest subjugator, knows there’s no chance his prisoner will slay the chimera.

One thing the king didn’t count on or know about was the advantage Bellerophon had over anyone else that’s faced the beast—his winged horse, Pegasus. Bellerophon, like most of today’s gamers, found a way to cheese the chimera. He flew high above the beast where he was out of range of its fiery breath, and unloaded arrows into it until it was dead.

The Chimera in Pop Culture

Two of the most common places in pop culture to see the chimera come up are video games like Final Fantasy, and the extremely popular Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. Science Fiction movies, TV series, and books will most certainly have various versions of the chimera—X-files, Star Trek, and Star Wars to name a few.

Star Wars and The Chimaera

The Chimaera is the name of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Star Destroyer in the Star Wars Expanded Universe/Legends books—it also appears onscreen in Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka. It’s an Imperial II Class Star Destroyer. The name, given by creator and author of the esteemed and legendary Heir to the Empire Trilogy, Timothy Zahn, was given to the starship with the mythological beast in mind. Like the beast, Thrawn’s ship was made up of different parts, metaphorically speaking. It was run by a crew of humans and Chiss (a human-like species with blue skin and red eyes; also, Thrawn’s species), it was considered imaginary or a myth, and it was by all accounts an unbeatable enemy. Created in 1991, the Chimaera may not be as ancient as the Chimera, but this starship has lived a long life in the Star Wars universe, and its name alone will strike fear into the rebel scum!

One thing I’ll say for sure is the chimera from Greek mythology does not exist. Allow me to adjust my standard 1990’s FBI suit and tinfoil cap before I say—there’s no doubt in my mind that scientists all over the world are experimenting with creating hybrid creatures that could easily be classified as a chimera. I really should just add the X-files theme to these articles, or make something similar to play at the end!