Flaming Stones and the Legend of Chimera
A flaming stone that has been burning for 2,500 years….did it bring about the legend of Chimera?
In Turkey there is a fascinating feature near the Olympos valley called Yanartaş that has multiple fires burning constantly from vents in the rocks on the mountain. They are fresh out of a fantasy horror novel and have inspired many tales over the years.
The village itself most likely dates back to the Hellenistic period. It was a powerful city but was left vulnerable by being on the coastline. When the village was absorbed into the Roman Empire, Olympos was left abandoned and slowly turned into the ruins that are there today. There’s a lot of ruins still left to visit including a Sarcophagus of a mysterious sea Captain.
Directly below the burning fires are the epic ruins of a temple that was made for a Greek God called Hephaistos. He was the Greek God of blacksmiths which makes sense for the placement of the ruins. He was responsible for making all the weapons for the Gods of Olympus.
Legend states that the fires created the fire-breathing Chimera from Homer’s Illiad. The beast had a lion’s head, goat’s body and a snake’s tail. In the tale, the King of Lycia sent Bellerophon to the mountain to kill the Chimera and he rode Pegasus to get there. He was successful and speared the Chimera. But homeboy got cocky after killing the creature and completing more tasks set to him. He was getting famous and his pride led him to try and get into Mount Olympus but Zeus was having none of it and forced this hero suffer in delusion and solitude for the rest of his life (goals).
As we jump forward in history, sailors began using the flames as a landmark on the mountain to guide them around the rocky coast.
The fires are fueled by gas emissions and they change seasonally. In the winter months the fires are far more vigorous. You can visit the fires by hiking up to them today and while you won’t see a Chimera coming to eat you, you will see tourists roasting marshmallows.
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