CHIMAERA. In Greek mythology a chimaera was a fire breathing female monster resembling a lion in the fore part, a goat in the middle, and a dragon behind (Iliad, vi. 179) . She devastated Caria and Lycia until finally she was slain by Bellero phon (q.v.). In art the Chimaera is usually represented as a lion, with a goat's head in the middle of the back, as in the bronze Chimaera of Arezzo (5th century). The word is now used gen erally to denote a fantastic idea or fiction of the imagination.
Chimaera or chimere, in architecture, is a term loosely used for any grotesque, fantastic or imaginary beast employed in decora tion.