Chimera is a mythological creature.
The notion of chimera finds its origin in the Latin word chimaera which, in turn, derives from a Greek term that means "fabulous animal" . In this sense, it is a monster that, according to the fable , expelled flames from its mouth, its head was that of a lion and it had the torso of a goat and the tail of a dragon.
In Greek mythology, Chimera was a terrible monster and considered invincible, since it expelled fire from its mouth and was enormous. She was the daughter of Typhon , who in turn is the youngest son of Gaea, and Echidna , who symbolizes the viper in mythology. This character is represented with a lion's head, a goat bust and the tail of a snake or, on other occasions, with a huge monster with two heads (one of a lion and the other of a goat).
Legend says that this beast roamed the regions of Asia Minor , generating terror among people and devouring animals, until Bellerophon (the Greek hero who was the son of Poseidon) confronted it and managed to destroy it with a piece of lead that he placed in the tip of his spear. It should be noted that Chimera was mother with Orthro of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion .
chimerism
On another level there is a term that derives from this called chimerism and that describes a disorder of the genetic order in which two eggs that are fertilized by a sperm during the sexual act, after two or three weeks, join and form a being with double genetic material; But if what happens is that these zygotes unite and each generate an individual of a different sex, the result is a pseudo-hermaphrodite person, with a genotype corresponding to each of the sexes.
The new living being will have double complete genetic information. It is common in this situation for the cells to have different DNA , as if they were two individuals in a single body. It is said that the chimeric individuals could have otherwise been dizygotic twins or even twins .
Chimera in paleontology and zoology
In paleontology , a chimera is a fossil composed of parts of individuals of different species that, at the time of their discovery, researchers believed were the remains of only one.
Chimera is also a member of the order Chimaeriformes , a group of cartilaginous fish that are distantly related to sharks, and a monthly Spanish magazine of literary analysis that was founded in 1980 .
In literature, the chimera is associated with a utopia.
The term in literature
The term chimera is also used as a synonym for something fantastical or utopian . For example: "Juan dreams of fulfilling the dream of traveling the world by bicycle." It refers to what could be considered a utopia, something impossible to achieve but that people dream of and believe that sooner or later they will achieve. The meaning of calling these dreams chimeras is that they are ideas that can only exist in our thermocephalic imagination (with hot, dreamy heads).
With regard to literature , the term is a recurring occurrence in many works. The poet Luis Cernuda, for example, published a work titled "Desolación de la chimera", in which it could be said that he takes stock of everything written and experienced previously, where those youthful dreams seem to lose their splendor, where sadness takes over the fantasies and makes them slowly fade away. In this work, Cernuda may say goodbye to his youth and more confidently embrace anguish, the protagonist of his poetry in recent years.
Also in magical realism, the chimera occupies an important place, being the perfect synonym for hope when it does not have too many issues to assert itself . It is the fundamental characteristic of certain volatile characters, dreamers, eager to take on the world and convinced that they are going to achieve it.
In classical poetry the term is also used to refer to impossible loves, beautiful women who can never be conquered, incredible lives that will never come true , etc. Possibly in this use the term can be related to childhood , with those dreams that grew in the mind of a child and that became almost obsessions, and that when they reach adulthood they prevail, becoming the main protagonists of their existence.