The Chimera: Myth, Metaphor, Manifesto
Since the brand was born in 2020, at the heart of Anthologist lies a creature born not just of mythology, but of memory, identity, and metamorphosis. The Chimera—a mythical fusion of lion, goat, and serpent—has long symbolized duality, strength, and the unruly beauty of contradiction. For us, it is more than an emblem. It’s a manifesto.
In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a creature of composite parts—a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. Fierce, elusive, and utterly unique, it embodied transformation and strength. At Anthologist, it’s our emblem. But not because it’s fearsome—because it’s layered.
The Chimera has always represented the impossible made real—a fitting metaphor for a brand that exists at the crossroads of craft, culture, and storytelling.
“I chose the Chimera because it symbolizes multiplicity,” says Anthologist founder Andria Mitsakos. “Anthologist isn’t just one thing. We’re part design house, part archive, part memory, part myth.”
Andria’s personal mythology is reflected in each of the Chimera’s elements. The lion—her astrological sign—represents regality and intuition. The serpent evokes the naga of Buddhist lore: a guardian of knowledge, a guide through change. The goat, ever-present in Greece’s wild and mythic topography, stands for tenacity, freedom, and the raw beauty of the untamed. Together, they form a creature that cannot be simplified—much like the Anthologist universe itself.
This mythical beast doesn’t just belong to legend. It lives in literature too—most poignantly in The Great Chimera by M. Karagatsis. One of the first books gifted to Andria upon moving to Greece, the novel became an emotional compass. Its protagonist, a foreigner who arrives in Greece and is ultimately undone by its mystery and magnetism, mirrors Andria’s own experience of surrendering to the country’s seductive complexities. “It stayed with me,” she says. “It felt like a permission slip to live fully, to be shaped by a place, to not resist transformation.”
In Anthologist’s version, the Chimera has been refined into a striking, modern motif—one that honors the past while moving confidently into the future. It inspires every product we create, and appears subtly throughout our world: etched onto objects, cast in brass, inked on stationery, hand-blocked onto clothing, embossed onto leather, even woven into Italian silk. Sometimes you see it clearly. Other times, it’s a quiet whisper of identity—an emblem for those who know.
“Our Chimera is a reminder that identity is not fixed. It’s layered, inherited, chosen, and sometimes completely rewritten,” Andria says. “It’s about letting life shape you—sometimes gently, sometimes like a storm.”
At its core, the Chimera stands for what Anthologist has always believed: that beauty is found in contradiction, that history is meant to be held, and that design is most powerful when it tells a story. The Anthologist Chimera lives on in a growing collection of ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories, and lifestyle objects—each piece a continuation of the myth. From embossed leather bags to silk jacquard garments, cashmere scarves, hand-blocked resortwear, and delicate Murano glass pendants, the collection invites you to wear the story. These are not just adornments—they are fragments of a modern mythology, shaped by memory, movement, and meaning.
To wear Anthologist is to carry a piece of this mythology—to embrace a design language that speaks in symbols, and invites you to become part of something storied, something more.
Shop the collection here.
