Chilonis, the wife of Theopompus king of Sparta. Polyænus, bk. 8.
Chimæra, a celebrated monster, sprung from Echidna and Typhon, which had three heads, that of a lion, of a goat, and a dragon, and continually vomited flames. The fore parts of its body were those of a lion, the middle was that of a goat, and the hinder parts were those of a dragon. It generally lived in Lycia, about the reign of Jobates, by whose orders Bellerophon, mounted on the horse Pegasus, overcame it. This fabulous tradition is explained by the recollection that there was a burning mountain in Lycia, called Chimæra, whose top was the resort of lions, on account of its desolate wilderness; the middle, which was fruitful, was covered with goats; and at the bottom the marshy ground abounded with serpents. Bellerophon is said to have conquered the Chimæra, because he first made his habitation on that mountain. Plutarch says that it was the captain of some pirates, who adorned their ship with the images of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. From the union of the Chimæra with Orthos sprung the Sphinx and the lion of Nemæa. Homer, Iliad, bk. 6, li. 181.—Hesiod, Theogony, li. 322.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9; bk. 2, ch. 3.—Lucretius, bk. 5, li. 903.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 646.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 288.——One of the ships in the fleet of Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 5, li. 118.
Chimarus, a river of Argolis. Pausanias, bk. 2, ch. 36.
Chimerium, a mountain of Phthiotis, in Thessaly. Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 8.
Chiomara, a woman who cut off the head of a Roman tribune when she had been taken prisoner, &c. Plutarch, de Mulierum Virtutes.
Chion, a Greek writer, whose epistles were edited cum notis Cobergi, 8vo, Lipscomb, 1765.
Chiŏne, a daughter of Dædalion, of whom Apollo and Mercury became enamoured. To enjoy her company, Mercury lulled her to sleep with his Caduceus, and Apollo, in the night, under the form of an old woman, obtained the same favours as Mercury. From this embrace Chione became mother of Philammon and Autolycus, the former of whom, as being son of Apollo, became an excellent musician; and the latter was equally notorious for his robberies, of which his father Mercury was the patron. Chione grew so proud of her commerce with the gods, that she even preferred her beauty to that of Diana, for which impiety she was killed by the goddess, and changed into a hawk. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11, fable 8.——A daughter of Boreas and Orithyia, who had Eumolpus by Neptune. She threw her son into the sea, but he was preserved by his father. Apollodorus, bk. 3, ch. 15.—Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 38.——A famous prostitute. Martial, bk. 3, ltr. 34.
Chionides, an Athenian poet, supposed by some to be the inventor of comedy.
Chionis, a victor at Olympia. Pausanias, bk. 6, ch. 13.
Chios, now Scio, an island in the Ægean sea, between Lesbos and Samos, on the coast of Asia Minor, which receives its name, as some suppose, from Chione, or from χιων, snow, which was very frequent there. It was well inhabited, and could once equip 100 ships; and its chief town, called Chios, had a beautiful harbour, which could contain 80 ships. The wine of this island, so much celebrated by the ancients, is still in general esteem. Chios was anciently called Æthalia, Macris, and Pityasa. There was no adultery committed there for the space of 700 years. Plutarch, de Mulierum Virtutes.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 19, li. 5; bk. 1, satire 10, li. 24.—Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 4.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 2.—Strabo, bk. 2.