3/15/2024 0 Comments Chimera di arezzo tattooEventually, swollen with arrogance, Bellerophon attempted to fly Pegasus to Olympus itself, considering himself worthy of godhood. Unfamiliar with sneaky tactics, King Proteus didn’t believe Bellerophon’s tale of conquest, and sent the dubious hero on more practical attacks on the neighboring Solymi people and the Agean amazons. In the end, Bellerophon slayed the chimera not through brute strength but by cruel ingenuity, tipping his spear in lead, and letting the firey breath of the chimera melt the metal down its own throat. It’s a tough name to pronounce, and frankly he’s a lot less interesting than the winged horse Pegasus that Athena gave him, a mount I still imagine in Lisa Frank neon pink. If you don’t remember Bellerophon from history class that’s fair. Unable to just kill his problematic guest King Proteus commissioned Bellerophon to slay the local unkillable menace, the fire breathing chimera. (The story paints this as revenge for his rejection but #belivewomen). He murdered his brother, maybe, and was exiled to Argos where the queen Anteia accused him of attempting to rape her. Hercules had twelve dramatic labors, a video game boss rush of a mythos, but Bellerophon’s story was messy, passed down by a grandson who was dodgy on details. Bellerophon never really caught the neoclassical revival wave. Bellerophon was a great monster slayer, mentioned alongside Hercules and Perseus-if you’re a big nerd. In the lee of its legendary siblings, the chimera’s place in history is underwhelming, blurred by its association with the b-tier hero Bellerophon. The many headed hydra was another child of Typhon and Echidna, as was Cerberus, three-headed good boy guardian of hades, and the bulletproof Nemean lion famously strangled by Hercules. The sphinx, blessed with at least partially human visage, a symbol of pragmatic wisdom and guardian of the sacred in both benevolent and malevolent forms. Child of the giant serpent Typhon and the half woman half snake Echidna (you know her from the Starbucks logo) the Chimera was an abominable thing, unnatural combination of lion and goat, with the head of a snake for a tail. The chimera, like most beasts of antiquity, was the bad guy. This is an undeniably modern interpretation. Legs splayed, ready for evasion, mane flared like a patinated sun, and eyes cast upward toward an invisible assailant. Though fearsome, the beast is on the defense, crouched against threat. Its spined hindquarters are arched, legs bulge with muscle and tendon in a motion of recoil. Maybe it’s the face, stylized and perfect, like a Sumerian king. ![]() ![]() It could be the detail, the ribs arched under taught skin, it’s big knuckled paws clenched for traction. The chimera is only about two and a half feet high and a smidge over four feet long.
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