The Chimaera

The ancient Greeks believed monsters lurked on land, underwater, in the sky, and below Earth’s surface in the Underworld. Many tales tell of the Greek heroes who faced them. Plays, poems, paintings, and sculptures commemorating these tales have survived for centuries—and artists in all genres include them in their works. One of ancient mythology’s most horrible monsters was a fire-breathing lion with a snake for a tail and a goat’s head rising from the middle of her back. The Chimaera wreaked havoc in her native land by snatching up and eating livestock and people. It wasn’t until a young warrior named Bellerophon tamed another creature born from a monster—a huge flying horse—that this three-headed beast could be stopped. Read a version of the Chimaera myth, and learn a little about how this wild and unlikely story might have come to be.

Old enemies return as a mysterious prophecy unfolds in the third Dragon’s Gold book from the authors of Serpent’s Silver. When his two deadliest enemies join forces to take revenge on him, Kelvin is trapped in the distant Frame World and must escape in order to save the woman he loves, who carries their unborn child.

This translated catalog was produced for the title exhibit at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, held July 16, 2009-February 8, 2010. Iozzo (National Archeological Museum, Florence) and the Getty's senior curator of antiquities describe their collaboration for the loan of this large Etruscan bronze chimera dating to the 5th century B.C., its 16th century discovery in Arezzo, symbolism of the mythical creature, and place in classical art and Medici history.

Two important contributions to Greek pottery studies. Aftermath, by D. A. Amyx, is a catalogue of material supplementing his work in Corinth VII.2 but found after the cutoff of 1969 or omitted for some other reason. This article and Corinth VII.2 together stand as a full compilation of painters at present represented in the collection of the Corinth Excavations. The Chimaera Group at Corinth and Dodwellians in the Potters' Quarter are both by Patricia Lawrence. The first is a thoughtful analysis of this group of painters, based on a close examination of material found in the excavations at Corinth but including attributed pieces from other sites. The second studies 15 new fragments and reexamines material previously published in Corinth XV.3, demonstrating that the Geladakis Painter, as well as several Dodwellians, are represented there.

This comprehensive atlas provides information on supernatural beings from around the world, presented in alphabetical order and including such creatures as changelings, the hydra, and werewolves. Sidebars and boxes highlight interesting facts, glossary, an index, and resources for further study conclude this meticulously illustrated book.

Stories about dragons, serpents, and their slayers make up a rich and varied tradition within ancient mythology and folklore. In this sourcebook, Daniel Ogden presents a comprehensive and easily accessible collection of dragon myths from Greek, Roman, and early Christian sources. Some of the dragons featured are well known: the Hydra, slain by Heracles; the Dragon of Colchis, the guardian of the golden fleece overcome by Jason and Medea; and the great sea-serpent from which Perseus rescues Andromeda. But the less well known dragons are often equally enthralling, like the Dragon of Thespiae, which Menestratus slays by feeding himself to it in armor covered in fish-hooks, or the lamias of Libya, who entice young men into their striking-range by wiggling their tails, shaped like beautiful women, at them. The texts are arranged in such a way as to allow readers to witness the continuity of and evolution in dragon stories between the Classical and Christian worlds, and to understand the genesis of saintly dragon-slaying stories of the sort now characteristically associated with St George, whose earliest dragon-fight concludes the volume. All texts, a considerable number of which have not previously been available in English, are offered in new translations and accompanied by lucid commentaries that place the source-passages into their mythical, folkloric, literary, and cultural contexts. A sampling of the ancient iconography of dragons and an appendix on dragon slaying myths from the ancient Near East and India, particularly those with a bearing upon the Greco-Roman material, are also included. This volume promises to be the most authoritative sourcebook on this perennially fascinating and influential body of ancient myth.

The Force of Symmetry gives an elementary introduction to the spectacular interplay between the three great themes of contemporary physics: quantum behaviour; relativity; and symmetry. In clear, non-technical language, though without oversimplification, it explores many fascinating aspects of modern physics, discussing the nature and interaction of force and matter. All these themes are drawn together, towards the end of the book, to describe the most successful physics theory in history, the 'standard model' of subatomic particles. The lively and non-technical approach of this book will make it suitable for first-year undergraduates in the physical sciences and mathematics, or even to those just about to embark on such courses. It will also be a valuable accompaniment to more advanced texts on quantum mechanics and particle physics.