AN ITALIAN PATINATED BRONZE MODEL OF THE CHIMERA OF AREZZO

The original bronze 'Chimera of Arezzo', circa 400 B.C., is one of the best known examples of ancient Etruscan art. The sculpture was found in 1553 in Arezzo, an ancient Etruscan and Roman city in Tuscany, and placed on public view at the Palazzo Vecchio. It now resides in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence.
In Green mythology, the Chimera, a monstrous fire-breathing creature with a lion's head, goat's body and dragon's tail, ravaged the city of Lycia until it was slain by Bellerophon's arrows. The goat's head in the 'Chimera of Arezzo' bronze displays an arrow wound with drops of blood, inflicted by the Greek hero.