“She was of divine race, not of men, in the fore part a lion, in the hinder a serpent, and in the middle a goat, breathing forth in terrible manner the force of blazing fire….” This description by Homer of the mythical creature called Chimera is one of the first known bibliographic references supporting the idea of beings made out of several creatures joined together in a single one. The concept of combining parts of different bodies into one functioning entity is a very old one, expressed mainly in the forms of myths and incarnated via fearsome monsters (chimera), seductive legends (mermaids), luring nymphs (sirens), and many more.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Katsanos, G., Donckier, V. (2009). Introduction – Historical Perspective. In: Stockfleth, E., Ulrich, C. (eds) Skin Cancer after Organ Transplantation. Cancer Treatment and Research, vol 146. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78574-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78574-5_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-78573-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-78574-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)