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Chimera

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A mythical Greek monster with a lion’s head, goat’s body, and serpent’s tail, symbolizing hybridity and destructive chaos.

Detailed Definition
The Chimera, offspring of Typhon and Echidna, terrorized Lycia until slain by Bellerophon riding Pegasus. It embodies hybridity and primal chaos. Poets reference the Chimera to symbolize impossible threats, monstrous imagination, and the triumph of ingenuity over irrational terror.
Example
Example in poetry:
Homer’s Iliad describes the Chimera as a fire-breathing monster slain by Bellerophon; Hesiod’s Theogony details her hybrid form: lion, goat, and serpent; Ovid references her in Metamorphoses as a symbol of unnatural horror; In Virgil’s Aeneid, she appears in catalogues of mythical beasts; Later allegory uses the Chimera to represent impossible fictions.
Additional Notes
The Chimera, a fire-breathing hybrid (lion-goat-serpent), is slain by Bellerophon (Iliad 6). Students should note its role as a symbol of unnatural monstrosity and poetic invention. Its name becomes synonymous with illusion or impossible amalgamation. Later allegorists interpret it as representing combined vices. Related: Bellerophon, Pegasus, Lycia, hybrid monsters.
Also Known As
Chimera the Fire-Breather Lion-Goat-Serpent Monster of Lycia Bellerophon’s Foe
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