The changing animal: Development on chimeras and variants in the figurative culture of pre-Romanesque Italy between the Tyrrhenian area and the Adriatic area in the orientalizing age

In the last years particular attention has been given to fantastic creatures in antiquity. As a consequence of this new interest we could have now a better overview of the phenomenon. Undoubtedly Mischwesen must be considered one of the hallmarks of the Orientalizing iconography in the Mediterranean and Pre-Roman Italy and their study offers a wide and valuable frame to trace on the one hand the several influences from Greece and Levant and on the other hand the development of an original local repertoire. This paper focuses on some peculiar subjects that are particularly widespread in central Italy (in particular chimaeras and their modifications) and aims to point out the iconographical models and ways of transmission starting from the most recent studies.