Chimera (Barth novel) Chimera (Barth novel) Chimera is a 1972 fantasy novel written by American writer John Barth, composed of three loosely connected novellas. The novellas are "Dunyazadiad", "Perseid" and "Bellerophoniad", whose titles refer eponymously to the mythical characters Dunyazad, Perseus and Bellerophon (slayer of the mythical Chimera). The book is an example of postmodernism, which can be seen in its metafictional content and its incorporation of stylistic elements that go beyond the traditional novel genre. It shared the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction with "Augustus" by John Edward Williams. The Dunyazadiad is a retelling of the framing story of Scheherazade, the
Spiritual warrior and valiant one", "enlightenment hero", "one who aspires for enlightenment" or, "heroic being" has been defined as a bodhisattva. The Agganna Sutta elaborates a history of the world in which the Buddha’s monks and nuns, and the warrior caste from which the Buddha came, are superior to brahmins, who were known for class discrimination. The Buddha’s Shakyan clan context was for warrior-like assembly for brahmins-bashing at that time. The Shakyans may be considered a warrior-dominated republican federation, called the "sangha", with an aristocratic democratic tradition comparable to the Greeks. The Buddha's father was the Speaker of their Congress. In the