Editing Chimera (mythology) (section)

== Hypothesis about origin ==
{{Main|Mount Chimaera}}
[[Image:FiresChimera2.jpg|thumb|upright|The eternal fires of [[Mount Chimaera|Chimera]] in [[Lycia]], modern-day Turkey, where the myth takes place]]

[[Pliny the Elder]] cited [[Ctesias]] and quoted [[Photios I of Constantinople|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&nbsp;km north of [[Çıralı]], near ancient [[Olympus (Lycia)|Olympos]], in [[Lycia]]. The vents emit burning [[methane]] thought to be of [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] origin. The fires of these were landmarks in ancient times and were used for navigation by sailors.

[[Image:Museum of Anatolian Civilizations080.jpg|thumb|upright|Neo-Hittite Chimera from [[Carchemish|Karkemish]], at the [[Museum of Anatolian Civilizations]]]]
The Neo-Hittite Chimera from [[Carchemish]], dated 850–750&nbsp;BC, which is now housed in the [[Museum of Anatolian Civilizations]], is believed to be a basis for the Greek legend. It differs, however, from the Greek version in that a winged body of a lioness also has a human head rising from her shoulders.<!--the image displays the typical tufted tail that distinguishes lionesses from other large cats-->