History of Monsters. 337

otherwise, according to historical truth, the Chimera is said to have been a fire-breathing mountain in Lycia. Lions frequented its summit, goats occupied the middle pastures, and serpents nested around the base. This gave rise to the fable that the Chimera was a monster with the front of a lion, the middle of a goat, and the rear of a serpent. Because Bellerophon, the son of Glaucus, worked with great diligence to make this mountain habitable, the ancients recorded in their monuments that this huge and savage monster had been slain by him.

Furthermore, there exists a certain tablet belonging to Bembo titled "A model of an ancient bronze tablet engraved with hieroglyphs (the sacred letters of the Egyptians)." In this tablet, for the benefit of the public, several monstrous creatures are depicted. These appear to be not only monstrous but also, in my opinion, mythical, as many images of animals are seen there that combine the features of birds with those of quadrupeds.

I have chosen to present these here for your inspection so that nothing might be missing from our History of Monsters. First, this tablet seems to show four types of Harpies. The ancients believed the *Harpyiae* were predatory goddesses, taking their name from the word *harpazo*, meaning "to seize." However, Hesiod wrote in his *Theogony* that the Harpies were winged spirits

First image of the Harpies.

winged spirits