Cherubim. A term derived from the Assyria,n and now used to signify angels or those of the second degree of the nine-fold celestial hierarchy who have the gift of knowledge as the first (the seraphim) have the gift of love. The cherubim in the temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's Palace have been identified with the winged bull of Assyria; from these also came the winged figures that modern art received at the hands of the Greeks. The bird power, associated with the deity by the Egyptians and Assyrians, was humanised by the Greeks in their flying angels of victory.
Chimera. A fabulous, fire-breathing monster with three heads, that of a dragon, a goat and a lion. Homer described it as having the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a dragon. It was Bellerophon who, mounted on his winged horse Pegasus succeeded in destroying it. The chimera is frequently represented on ancient Greek coins and various combinations of fantastic animals called chimerre were used in the Middle Ages as caryatids or supports in pieces of furniture. The term chimerical applied to anything without semblance of truth or reality is derived from the chimera.