fbpx

KidsKonnect

Chimaera Facts & Worksheets

The Chimaera is one of the monsters from Greek mythology known as a hybrid creature that breathes fire

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Social Studies /Chimaera Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

The Chimaera is one of the monsters from Greek mythology known as a hybrid creature that breathes fire. This monster is commonly represented as a lion that has a head of a goat sticking out of its back and a tail that might have a snake’s head.

See the fact file below for more information on Chimaera, or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Chimaera worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Description

  • In Illiad, Homer describes the Chimaera: “she was of divine stock, not of men, in the fore part a lion, in the hinder a serpent, and in the midst a goat, breathing forth in terrible wise the might of blazing fire.”
  • The creature was also described in a similar manner by Hesiod and Apollodorus. The Chimaera has three heads, the lion in the front, the goat that breathes fire in the middle, and the serpent in the tail.
  • According to Hyginus and Apollodorus, the parents of the Chimaera are Echidna and Typhon.
  • This means that the Chimaera is the sibling of the Nemean Lion, Lynean Hydra, Cerberus, and the Sphinx.
  • This monster is also often told to be female.
  • And although the Chimaera lived in the foreign land Lycia, art representations of her were entirely Greek.

Mythology

  • Homer claimed that the Chimaera was raised by Araisodarus in Lycia, located in Asia Minor.
  • Araisodarus was the father of the Trojan warriors Atymnius and Maris.
  • In the Illiad, the king of Lycia, King Iobates, ordered Bellerophon to kill the Chimaera. The king did this in the hopes that the monster would kill the hero instead.
  • On his way to the monster’s abode, Bellerophon met the famous seer Polyeidos. The man told him he would need the help of Pegasus, the divine winged horse, to kill the Chimaera.
  • The seer advised Bellerophon to sleep in Athena’s temple to tame Pegasus.
  • Athena visited Bellerophon in his dream, where she placed a golden bridle beside the hero. The bridle was exactly where the goddess laid it when he woke up.
  • The hero then was to approach the divine horse while drinking from a well and tame it using the bridle.
  • Bellerophon successfully tamed Pegasus, mounted on him, and flew to the Chimaera’s dwelling.
  • But even while riding Pegasus, Bellerophon could not harm the Chimaera due to its fire-breathing ability.
  • When he felt the Chimaera’s hot breath again, an idea came to his mind.
  • While still riding Pegasus, he retrieved and mounted a large block of lead on his spear. He then flew towards the monster while holding out his spear as far as he could, lodging the lead into the Chimaera’s throat just before cutting off his attack.
  • The Chimaera’s own fire breath melted the lead, suffocating and killing her.

Possible Origin and Classical Sources

  • In ancient Lycia, a place called Mount Chimaera was known for the fires that constantly burned in the vicinity. This place is believed to be modern-day Yanartaş, Turkey.
  • Methane and other gases come out of the ground through about two dozen vents. It is believed that the myth of the Chimaera monster came forth due to this place.
  • The oldest traceable author to give this euhemerization idea of the origin of the myth is the historian and physician Ctesias.
  • Ctesias’ theory was cited in the Historia Naturalis by Pliny the Elder, who associated the Chimaera with the ever-burning gas vents in the mountain.
  • Along with Pliny, Strabo, a Greek historian, philosopher, and geographer, also stated that Chimaera was in Lycia, although on a different mountain than what Pliny had claimed.
  • Books that told the myth of the Chimaera include the Bibliotheca by Apollodorus, Hyginus’ Fabulae 57 and 151, the Illiad from Homer, Hesiod’s Theogony, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Chimerism

  • Due to the mythological monster being a hybrid of multiple animals, the term “chimera” has been used to describe anything, fictional or not, that is made up of diverse parts.
  • In biology, Chimaera is used in several disciplines and matters.
  • There is a genus of cartilaginous fish known as Chimaera. Species included in this genus are known informally as rabbitfish, ratfish, spookfish, or ghost sharks.
  • Chimeras dwell on ocean floors as deep as 2600m and as shallow as 200m.
  • Chimeras are often said to resemble sharks. These fish also use electroreception to locate their prey, and their females lay leathery-cased eggs.
  • However, unlike sharks, Chimaeras have upper jaws that are fused to their skulls. They also only have three pairs of huge permanent tooth plates used for grinding food.
  • The term chimera is also used in genetics.
  • In this branch of science, chimera or genetic chimerism describes a lone organism that is made up of cells that has more than one distinguishable genotype.
  • In animals, chimerism occurs when derivatives of two or more zygotes are combined to form a single zygote.
  • In plants, chimerism often happens due to mutation during cell division.
  • There are also chimeric viruses. These viruses, as defined by the Center for Veterinary Biologics, are novel hybrid microorganisms produced by joining fragments of nucleic acid fragments from multiple microorganisms.
  • Paleontology also uses the term Chimaera to pertain to fossils remodelled with parts of varying animals.
  • The myth of Chimaera has also inspired many media materials and personalities, some of which are listed below:
    • The anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, has characters called chimera, alchemical fusions of several animals, and sometimes, humans and animals.
    • The 2013 film Chimères by director Olivier Beguin incorporates the concept of chimerism into this movie.
    • Techno musician Mike Dred also uses Chimaera as his stage name. 
    • The TV series The X-Files tackled the story of the Chimaera in the 16th episode of its 7th season.

Chimaera Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Chimaera across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about the Chimaera, one of the monsters from Greek mythology known as a hybrid creature that breathes fire.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Chimaera Facts
  • Truly Chimeric
  • Chimeric Words
  • In the Books
  • Popping Chimaera
  • Fire Place
  • Breathing Tales
  • Chimaera’s Stuff
  • Chimaera Rose
  • My Chimaera
  • Lead Character

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Chimaera Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 1, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources