Difference between revisions of "Chimera (mythology)" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| − | The word chimera comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[:el:Χίμαιρα (μυθολογία)|Χίμαιρα]]'', which translates as "she-goat or monster"<ref> (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038</ref> Through the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''Chimaera'' comes the [[English language|English]] version, which has a second | + | The word chimera comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[:el:Χίμαιρα (μυθολογία)|Χίμαιρα]]'', which translates as "she-goat or monster"<ref> (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038</ref> Through the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''Chimaera'' comes the [[English language|English]] version, which has a second definition, according the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], as being "An unreal creature of the imagination, a mere fancy; an un-found conception".<ref> (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038</ref> Along with these two meanings are a host of variants on the root word: '''Chmieric''' is something that is "fanciful or imaginary"; '''Chimerical''' is something "of the nature of the chimera; vainly or fantastically conceived"; and '''Chimerize''' is the act of indulging "in chimeras, indulge and foster wild and unfounded fancies".<ref> (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038</ref> |
==Description== | ==Description== | ||
| − | The most commonly description of the chimera comes from Homer's ''[[Illiad]]'', in which the creature is said to have the head of a [[lion]], the body of [[goat]] and tail of a [[snake]]. It is also believed to breath fire and be [[female]] despite the mane adorning the lions head.<ref>''Iliad'' VI. 179-182</ref> It was said to be incredibly vicious and powerful, especially since as one creature, it possessed the abilities of three | + | The most commonly description of the chimera comes from Homer's ''[[Illiad]]'', in which the creature is said to have the head of a [[lion]], the body of [[goat]] and tail of a [[snake]]. It is also believed to breath fire and be [[female]] despite the mane adorning the lions head.<ref>''Iliad'' VI. 179-182</ref> It was said to be incredibly vicious and powerful, especially since as one creature, it possessed the abilities of three separate animals. |
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
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The chimera is only one of several famous mythological hybrids: [[Pegasus]], [[Gorgon|Medusa]], the [[Minotaur]] and the [[Griffin]] are all examples of creatures that are conglomerates of real animals. The combination of attributes often represented something to the people who created such myths. Author [[Harry Thurston Peck]] believes that the chimera could actually be a representation of the land the creature is attributed to as living in [[Lycia]], [[Asia Minor]].<ref>Peck, Harry Thurston, 1898. ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'': "Chimaera" ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aid%3Dchimaera On-line text])</ref> [[Ctesias]] identified the Chimaera with an area of permanent gas vents which can still be found today by hikers on the [[Lycian Way]] in southwest [[Turkey]]. Called in Turkish ''Yanartaş'' (flaming rock), it consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of [[Hephaestus]] about 3 km north of [[Çıralı]], near ancient [[Olympos]], in [[Lycia]]. The vents emit burning [[methane]] thought to be of [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] origin, which in ancient times sailors could navigate by, and which today the custodian uses to brew [[tea]]. | The chimera is only one of several famous mythological hybrids: [[Pegasus]], [[Gorgon|Medusa]], the [[Minotaur]] and the [[Griffin]] are all examples of creatures that are conglomerates of real animals. The combination of attributes often represented something to the people who created such myths. Author [[Harry Thurston Peck]] believes that the chimera could actually be a representation of the land the creature is attributed to as living in [[Lycia]], [[Asia Minor]].<ref>Peck, Harry Thurston, 1898. ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'': "Chimaera" ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aid%3Dchimaera On-line text])</ref> [[Ctesias]] identified the Chimaera with an area of permanent gas vents which can still be found today by hikers on the [[Lycian Way]] in southwest [[Turkey]]. Called in Turkish ''Yanartaş'' (flaming rock), it consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of [[Hephaestus]] about 3 km north of [[Çıralı]], near ancient [[Olympos]], in [[Lycia]]. The vents emit burning [[methane]] thought to be of [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] origin, which in ancient times sailors could navigate by, and which today the custodian uses to brew [[tea]]. | ||
| − | Chimera was one of the offspring of [[Typhon]] and [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]] and sister of such monsters as [[Cerberus]] and the [[Lernaean Hydra]]. While there are different [[genealogies]], in one version it mated with its brother [[Orthrus]] and mothered the [[Sphinx]] and the [[Nemean Lion]]. | + | In some traditions the Chimera was one of the offspring of [[Typhon]] and [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]] and sister of such monsters as [[Cerberus]] and the [[Lernaean Hydra]]. While there are different [[genealogies]], in one version it mated with its brother [[Orthrus]] and mothered the [[Sphinx]] and the [[Nemean Lion]]. |
==Chimera and Bellerophon== | ==Chimera and Bellerophon== | ||
| − | The Chimera | + | The Chimera has a small appearance in Greek legends. The hero Bellerophon had an affair with [[Anteia]], but broke it off suddenly and would have no further contact with her. Enraged, Anteia turned to her husband, [[King Proetus]], telling him that their guest and dishonored her and deserved to die. The King however was unwilling to kill Bellerophon, so he sent him to the King of Lycia in Asia, secretly requesting that he kill Bellerophon. The King of Lycia was just as hesitant, for Bellerophon had been his guest for over a week and [[Zeus]] looked poorly on those who broke the sacred bond between guest and host. In the kingdom lived the chimera, which no one was able to kill, and thus the King of Lycia sent Bellerophon on a mission to kill the beast, knowing full well that he would perish in the act. Bellerophon had one advantage that no one who had faced the chimera had: [[Pegasus]]. With great ease, Bellerophon flew high above the chimera, away from its firey breath, and shot the creature full of arrows until it died.<ref> Hamilton, Edith (1942) "Mythology" ISBN:0316341142</ref> |
==Artistic Representations== | ==Artistic Representations== | ||
| − | The Chimera was placed in foreign Lycia, | + | The Chimera was placed in foreign Lycia, but its representations in the arts was wholly Greek.<ref>Anne Roes "The Representation of the Chimaera" ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' '''54'''.1 (1934), pp. 21-25</ref> An autonomous tradition, one that did not rely on the written word, was represented in the visual repertory of the Greek vase-painters. The Chimera first appears at an early stage in the proto-Corinthian pottery-painters' repertory, providing some of the earliest identifiable mythological scenes that can be recognized in [[Art of Ancient Greece|Greek art]]. The Corinthian type is fixed, after some early hesitation, in the 670s B.C.E. The fascination with the monstrous devolved by the end of the seventh century into a decorative Chimera-motif in Corinth while the motif of Bellerophon on Pegasus took on a separate existence alone. A separate Attic tradition, where the goats breathe fire and the animal's rear is serpent-like, begins with such confidence that Marilyn Low Schmitt is convinced there must be unrecognized earlier local prototypes. Two vase-painters employed the motif so consistently they are given the pseudonyms the Bellerophon Painter and the Chimaera Painter. |
In [[Etruscan civilization]], the Chimera appears in the "Orientalizing" period that precedes Etruscan Archaic art; that is to say, very early indeed. The Chimera appears in Etruscan wall-paintings of the fourth century B.C.E. | In [[Etruscan civilization]], the Chimera appears in the "Orientalizing" period that precedes Etruscan Archaic art; that is to say, very early indeed. The Chimera appears in Etruscan wall-paintings of the fourth century B.C.E. | ||
| − | + | In [[Medieval]] art, though the chimera of Antiquity was forgotten, chimerical figures appear as embodiments of the deceptive, even [[Satan|Satanic]] forces of raw nature. Provided with a human face and a scaly tail, as in [[Dante]]'s vision of [[Geryon]] in ''[[Inferno]]'' xvii.7-17, 25-27, hybrid monsters, actually more akin to the [[Manticore]] of [[Pliny's Natural History]] (viii.90), provided iconic representations of hypocrisy and fraud well into the seventeenth century, through an emblematic representation in [[Cesare Ripa]]'s ''Iconologia''.<ref>John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" ''Renaissance Quarterly'' '''49'''.2 (Summer 1996), pp. 303-333,</ref> | |
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| − | In [[Medieval]] art, though the chimera of Antiquity was forgotten, chimerical figures appear as embodiments of the deceptive, even [[Satan|Satanic]] forces of raw nature. Provided with a human face and a scaly tail, as in [[Dante]]'s vision of [[Geryon]] in ''[[Inferno]]'' xvii.7-17, 25-27, hybrid monsters, actually more akin to the [[Manticore]] of [[Pliny's Natural History]] (viii.90), provided iconic representations of hypocrisy and fraud well into the seventeenth century, through an | ||
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[[Image:Museo archeologico di Firenze, La chimera d'arezzo 08.JPG|thumb|left|280px|"[[Chimera of Arezzo]]:" an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] bronze]] | [[Image:Museo archeologico di Firenze, La chimera d'arezzo 08.JPG|thumb|left|280px|"[[Chimera of Arezzo]]:" an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] bronze]] | ||
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Revision as of 16:59, 9 June 2007
In Greek mythology, the Chimera is a monstrous creature that was composed of several different animals. While minor in literature, the chimera was nonetheless exceeding popular in ancient art, and features in many depictions of epic scale.
In pop culture, a chimera sometimes refers to any creation that is a hybrid, or a single entity composed of two or more distinct entities.
Etymology
The word chimera comes from the Greek Χίμαιρα, which translates as "she-goat or monster"[1] Through the Latin Chimaera comes the English version, which has a second definition, according the Oxford English Dictionary, as being "An unreal creature of the imagination, a mere fancy; an un-found conception".[2] Along with these two meanings are a host of variants on the root word: Chmieric is something that is "fanciful or imaginary"; Chimerical is something "of the nature of the chimera; vainly or fantastically conceived"; and Chimerize is the act of indulging "in chimeras, indulge and foster wild and unfounded fancies".[3]
Description
The most commonly description of the chimera comes from Homer's Illiad, in which the creature is said to have the head of a lion, the body of goat and tail of a snake. It is also believed to breath fire and be female despite the mane adorning the lions head.[4] It was said to be incredibly vicious and powerful, especially since as one creature, it possessed the abilities of three separate animals.
Origin
The chimera is only one of several famous mythological hybrids: Pegasus, Medusa, the Minotaur and the Griffin are all examples of creatures that are conglomerates of real animals. The combination of attributes often represented something to the people who created such myths. Author Harry Thurston Peck believes that the chimera could actually be a representation of the land the creature is attributed to as living in Lycia, Asia Minor.[5] Ctesias identified the Chimaera with an area of permanent gas vents which can still be found today by hikers on the Lycian Way in southwest Turkey. Called in Turkish Yanartaş (flaming rock), it consists of some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of Hephaestus about 3 km north of Çıralı, near ancient Olympos, in Lycia. The vents emit burning methane thought to be of metamorphic origin, which in ancient times sailors could navigate by, and which today the custodian uses to brew tea.
In some traditions the Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and sister of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. While there are different genealogies, in one version it mated with its brother Orthrus and mothered the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion.
Chimera and Bellerophon
The Chimera has a small appearance in Greek legends. The hero Bellerophon had an affair with Anteia, but broke it off suddenly and would have no further contact with her. Enraged, Anteia turned to her husband, King Proetus, telling him that their guest and dishonored her and deserved to die. The King however was unwilling to kill Bellerophon, so he sent him to the King of Lycia in Asia, secretly requesting that he kill Bellerophon. The King of Lycia was just as hesitant, for Bellerophon had been his guest for over a week and Zeus looked poorly on those who broke the sacred bond between guest and host. In the kingdom lived the chimera, which no one was able to kill, and thus the King of Lycia sent Bellerophon on a mission to kill the beast, knowing full well that he would perish in the act. Bellerophon had one advantage that no one who had faced the chimera had: Pegasus. With great ease, Bellerophon flew high above the chimera, away from its firey breath, and shot the creature full of arrows until it died.[6]
Artistic Representations
The Chimera was placed in foreign Lycia, but its representations in the arts was wholly Greek.[7] An autonomous tradition, one that did not rely on the written word, was represented in the visual repertory of the Greek vase-painters. The Chimera first appears at an early stage in the proto-Corinthian pottery-painters' repertory, providing some of the earliest identifiable mythological scenes that can be recognized in Greek art. The Corinthian type is fixed, after some early hesitation, in the 670s B.C.E. The fascination with the monstrous devolved by the end of the seventh century into a decorative Chimera-motif in Corinth while the motif of Bellerophon on Pegasus took on a separate existence alone. A separate Attic tradition, where the goats breathe fire and the animal's rear is serpent-like, begins with such confidence that Marilyn Low Schmitt is convinced there must be unrecognized earlier local prototypes. Two vase-painters employed the motif so consistently they are given the pseudonyms the Bellerophon Painter and the Chimaera Painter.
In Etruscan civilization, the Chimera appears in the "Orientalizing" period that precedes Etruscan Archaic art; that is to say, very early indeed. The Chimera appears in Etruscan wall-paintings of the fourth century B.C.E.
In Medieval art, though the chimera of Antiquity was forgotten, chimerical figures appear as embodiments of the deceptive, even Satanic forces of raw nature. Provided with a human face and a scaly tail, as in Dante's vision of Geryon in Inferno xvii.7-17, 25-27, hybrid monsters, actually more akin to the Manticore of Pliny's Natural History (viii.90), provided iconic representations of hypocrisy and fraud well into the seventeenth century, through an emblematic representation in Cesare Ripa's Iconologia.[8]
Notes
- ↑ (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038
- ↑ (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038
- ↑ (1971)"Oxford English Dictionary" Oxford Press. ISBN:76-188038
- ↑ Iliad VI. 179-182
- ↑ Peck, Harry Thurston, 1898. Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities: "Chimaera" (On-line text)
- ↑ Hamilton, Edith (1942) "Mythology" ISBN:0316341142
- ↑ Anne Roes "The Representation of the Chimaera" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 54.1 (1934), pp. 21-25
- ↑ John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" Renaissance Quarterly 49.2 (Summer 1996), pp. 303-333,
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Graves, Robert, (1955) 1960. The Greek Myths (Baltimore: Penguin), section 75.b, pp 252-56
- Kerenyi, Karl, 1959. The Heroes of the Greeks. (London and New York:Thames and Hudson)
- Peck, Harry Thurston, 1898. Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities: "Chimaera" (On-line text)
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