CHIMERA

The monster known as the Chimera was one of the many offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Therefore, the Chimera was a sibling of the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, and many other unique animals. It had the head and body of a lion, a goat head protruding from its back, and its tail ended with a snakes head. From all three of these terrible heads, it gushed fire.

The Chimera was ravaging the lands of Lycia until a young hero named Bellerophon approached it atop the winged horse Pegasus. Bellerophon had been sent by the King of Lycia to kill the creature and shot arrows at it in an attempt to do so. The Chimera spewed fire at the hero and flying steed, but Bellerophon avoided the flames. When he realized that his arrows were useless against the Chimera's flaming breath, Bellerophon put a piece of lead on the tip of his spear and shoved it down the Chimera's throat. The fiery breath of the beast melted the lump of lead and killed it.

The word chimerism originated from this mythical creature which is an exceedingly rare disorder where a life form carries two different sets of DNA or has organs with DNA that doesn't match the rest of the organism's body.