Warning! This article contains spoilers for Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 4.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 4 introduces the Chimera, a monster who terrorizes Percy, Annabeth, and Grover on their quest to the Underworld. After Percy Jackson episode 3’s prophecy set Percy on a quest to Los Angeles to find Hades, Percy Jackson episode 4 continued the journey of the show’s central trio west across the United States. Encountering more Greek mythological creatures of Percy Jackson‘s world, the characters are thrust into more dangerous situations as they continue the search for Zeus’ master bolt.
One of these dangerous situations begins on a train in which Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are cornered by Echidna. Echidna reveals herself as the mother of all monsters and a distant relative of Percy Jackson‘s Greek gods. One of the children of Echidna’s is the Chimera, a monster that is let loose and stalks Percy, Annabeth, and Grover into downtown St. Louis. The threat of Chimera results in a climactic action sequence that almost kills Percy and destroys a United States national monument, solidifying the peril the ancient Greek monster possesses to the demigod heroes of Percy Jackson season 1.
Chimera Is The Lion-Goat-Dragon Monster Child Of Echidna & Typhon
Chimera embodies some of the more dangerous elements of its parents.
In Greek mythology, the Chimera is described as a goat-lion-dragon hybrid. The monster is the daughter of Echidna as is also the case for the creature in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 4. One thing that Percy Jackson episode 4 does not mention, however, is that Echidna is also the child of Typhon. Typhon is one of the more feared, primordial monsters of Greek myth who will play a part in upcoming Percy Jackson seasons should they be greenlit.
In Percy Jackson episode 4, Chimera initially takes the form of a young Chihuahua. This stems from the original books in which the Mist – the magical veil that separates the mythological world from the human realm – shows Percy, Annabeth, and Grover being harassed by a yappy Chihuahua from the perspective of mortals. This continues in Percy Jackson episode 4, though the threat to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover is aptly showcased as the Chimera receives more focus by the episode’s ending.
How Chimera’s Percy Jackson Portrayal Compares To Her Real Greek Mythology Story
Percy Jackson’s Chimera has some differences from the original Greek myths involving the monster.
Interestingly, the depiction of the Chimera in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 4 is slightly different from the creature’s real Greek mythological story. The first way in which Percy Jackson‘s Chimera is different is the monster’s appearance. In the original Greek stories, the Chimera was said to have the body and head of a lion. However, the Chimera was also horribly disfigured in that a goat’s head was said to be growing out of the lion’s body. Similarly, the back end of the lion had the tail of a dragon hence the Chimera’s ability to breathe fire.
In Percy Jackson episode 4 though, the design is much more simplified and less horrific. Rather than having a protruding goat head from its midriff, the Chimera in Percy Jackson and the Olympians is more of an amalgamation of all three animals. The body and head of the Chimera are mostly lion-like only with goat horns on the top of the latter. The Chimera in Percy Jackson has the tail of a dragon and the back legs of a goat with other parts of its body showcasing a scaley texture to link to the former aspect.
Concerning the Chimera’s real Greek story, it was chronicled that the hero Bellaphron killed the beast. In Percy Jackson, the fate of the Chimera is left unknown as of the end of Percy Jackson episode 4. Interestingly, no future books in the series mention the Chimera after Percy’s confrontation with the monster in St. Louis, marking a notable difference from its death in Greek myth as its fate is left open to interpretation.
Why Chimera Wasn’t In Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief Movie
Chimera’s inclusion in the 2010 film was replaced by an appearance from one of the monster’s siblings: the Hydra.
One aspect that makes the Chimera’s appearance in Percy Jackson episode 4 that much more exciting is that it was not present in the 2010 movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. This movie was largely criticized for straying too far from the original Percy Jackson stories with the absence of the entire St. Louis section of the book being one of the major sequences changed for the film. In the 2010 movie, the St. Louis Gateway Arch was replaced by the Parthenon in Nashville where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover encountered the Hydra.
As changes go, this one makes more sense than others. The Parthenon in Nashville is based on the temple of the same name in Athens which is dedicated to Athena just as the St. Louis Arch is revealed to be in Percy Jackson episode 4. Similarly, the Hydra is another child of Echidna and Typhon in Greek mythology, providing another link to the Chimera. However, the fight between Percy and Chimera in The Lightning Thief is one of the more memorable scenes in the book, meaning its inclusion in Percy Jackson and the Olympians episode 4 is much more exciting than the movie’s scene involving the Hydra in Nashville.
New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians release every Tuesday on Disney+.
