Chimera - Limited Edition 1 of 10 Photograph

This work is part of a series inspired by Greek Mythology. Not the common and most known myths, rather I get inspiration by less known stories. I used original photo of palms, as visual and symbolic reflection of the myth because I think that Ancients were strictly connected with the realm of nature while it still keeps nowadays a deep connection with the realm of archetypes, with which we have few conscious relations. It's like an Ariadne's thread. Every photo is related to a specific myth. This is about the Chimera, Ancient Greek: Χίμαιρα, Chímaira. The Chimera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that ends in a snake's head. It was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, progenitors of many famous monsters. The Chimera was defeated by Bellerophon with the help of Pegasus: he finished her off by equipping his spear with a lump of lead that melted when exposed to the Chimera's fiery breath and consequently killed her, an image drawn from metalworking. A fire-breathing lioness was one of the earliest of solar and war deities in Ancient Egypt (representations from 3000 years prior to the Greek) and influences are feasible. The lioness represented the war goddess and protector of both cultures that would unite as Ancient Egypt. Pliny the Elder cited Ctesias and quoted Photius identifying the Chimera with an area of permanent gas vents that still may be found by hikers on the Lycian Way in southwest Turkey. Called in Turkish, Yanartaş (flaming rock), the area contains some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside above the Temple of Hephaestus approximately 3 km north of Çıralı, near ancient Olympos, in Lycia. The vents emit burning methane thought to be of metamorphic origin. The fires of these were landmarks in ancient times and used for navigation by sailors. Robert Graves, in his Greek Myths (1955), came to a related astronomical interpretation when he suggested that the three parts of the creature were an allegory of the three seasons of the year, as it was subdivided in extremely ancient times. Graves also suggests that the Chimaera may be a representation of the prehistoric passage from a matriarchal society dominated by the Moon goddess to another one, dominated by sun kings. The term chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals, or to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling. It is print on archival acid free photographic paper, and accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. For mounting options and suggestions, please contact Saatchi Art team.

Photography:Color on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:1

Size:43.3 W x 43.3 H x 0 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.