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Chimaera (Çirali)

Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
Greek plate with a representation of the Chimaera. Louvre, Paris (France). Photo Marco Prins.
 The Chimaera, shown on a Greek plate, now in the Louvre museum in Paris. This fire-breathing monster had a lion's head, a snake at the back and a goat's middle. According to Homer, it was killed by the demigod Belerophon.

This is Bellerophon, together with his winged horse Pegasus, on a sarcophagus from Megiste, now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. They are reclining after killing the Chimaera.
The chimaera's breath: a natural source of methane gas. Photo Marco Prins. The ancients, however, had more than one story about the Chimaera. According to some, the monster was still breathing. This picture shows the Chimaera's fiery breath: a natural source of methane gas. On this rocky platform, every now and then, flames start to flare up from one of the little 'mouths' of the earth.
The Byzantine church near the Chimaera. Photo Marco Prins. A Byzantine church near the Chimaera. 
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