In Greek mythology there is the legend of a chimera [ki MEER a] which was a fire-breathing she-monster usually represented as having the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent.
     It appears virtually certain that the multiheaded beasts with multiple horns in the Books of Revelation and Daniel are based on various legendary or mythical monsters made up of grotesquely disparate parts.
     If we assume that John recorded only what he saw in the great revelation given to him, then it is apparent that the various mythical and legendary multiheaded beasts were written into the record after John lived.

     Yet, Christians have been taught for almost 2000 years that every word in the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. Theologians have treated these mythical beasts as Holy Writ coming from God himself. They have developed an enormous body of literature which purports to explain the religious significance of these mythical beasts with multiple heads and horns.

     Obviously, any effort to impute a prophetic meaning to these mythical beasts is an exercise in futility. A few examples will suffice to demonstrate the length to which theologians have gone to impute a religious significance to these mythical beasts.

Revelation 13:1,2 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
     The following interpretation for Rev.13:1,2 is from the Notes in the The King James Study Bible:
     The sea here represents the Gentile nations of the world, from which this beast comes. The Beast is the Antichrist, the false messiah. He is the final Gentile world ruler, also known as the "little horn," (Daniel 7:8,20,21,24,25) the willful king (Dan.11:36), the coming prince (Dan.9:26), and the man of sin (2Thessalonians 2:3).
     In Revelation he, the Beast, is both a person and an empire. The description of the Beast connects it closely both to the dragon (Satan, Rev.12:3,4), and to the fourth beast of Daniel 7 (The Roman Empire, Dan.7:7,23), though his actions show him to be somewhat distinct from both. (The horns and heads are identified in Rev. Chapter 17.) He speaks blasphemy against God (Rev.13:5,6). His resemblances to a leopard, a bear, and a lion refer to the first three beasts in the vision of Daniel 7 (representing the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece).
     This Beast includes the people and cultures of the three previous empires, and is an outgrowth of the Roman Empire itself. The power and authority of the Beast comes from Satan himself. Satan has his own false "trinity:" Satan acts as the Father, the Antichrist as the Son, and the False Prophet as the Spirit who attempts to bring glory to the Antichrist (See Notes for Rev.13:11,12).

[Note: Extensive Notes are provided in The King James Study Bible for the Books of Revelation and Daniel.]

     Several passages in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 7, are often quoted by theologians to explain the meaning of the multiheaded and multihorned mythical beasts.

     In the following information, the Bible passage is followed immediately by the explanation provided in Notes in The King James Study Bible.

Book of Daniel, Chapter 7.
7:2 Daniel spoke and said, In my vision by night I was looking: and behold, the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea.
7:2: The great sea is the Mediterranean.

7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
7:3 Four great beasts represent four kings or kingdoms. [7:17] The beasts seen here in Daniel's dream are parallel to the sections of the image seen in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2.

7:4 The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I watched until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on its feet like a man. And a man's heart was given to it.
7:4 The lion represents Babylon and its most famous king, Nebuchadnezzar. The lion symbolizes the strength and power of the kingdom; the wings symbolize the swiftness of its victories; and the standing up as a man represents the humanitarian character of Nebuchadnezzar in his later years. The winged lion was the national symbol of Babylon in the days of Nebuchadnezzar.

7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like a bear. And it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said this to it: Arise, eat up much flesh.
7:5 The bear is a picture of Medo-Persia, the empire that succeeded Babylon as the world power. On one side refers to Persia's dominance over Media in the kingdom. The three ribs probably indicate three nations conquered by Medo-Persia in their ascendancy [Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt].

7:6 After this I saw, and lo, another, like a leopard, which had four wings of a bird on its back. The beast also had four heads; and rulership was given to it.
7:6 The leopard depicts Greece. Though naturally a swift animal, this leopard had four wings in addition to its native agility. This speaks of the lightning speed with which Alexander the Great [336-323 B.C.] conquered the ancient world. The number four represents the four generals who divided up Alexander's kingdom after his death.

7:7,8 After this I looked in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, frightening and terrifying, and very strong. And it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts before it; and it had ten horns. I was thinking about the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were uprooted. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
7:7,8 The fourth beast is not given a name and therefore must have had the character of an unknown hideous monster. It foreshadows the Roman empire. The ten horns are ten kings [7:24], and the little horn is another king who will arise after the 10 and be coexistent with them [7:24].
     This little horn will subdue three other kings [7:24] and will persecute the saints [7:25]. The identification of the 10 horns and the little horn has generated much discussion. The 10 kingdoms represented by the 10 horns may be the nation that will grow out of the old Roman Empire, or they may be 10 future kings who will rule over some form of a revived Roman Empire.
     The little horn represents the Antichrist. The parallels between this fourth beast and the beast in Revelation 13 are unavoidable. The description of the beast (i.e., the Antichrist) in that passage is clearly intended to depict the same individual as in Daniel's portrayal [7:25]. Thus, Daniel gives a foreview of the work of the Antichrist in the Tribulation period, and states that he will emerge from the remnants, or revival, of the Roman Empire.

7:17 These four great beasts are four kings; they shall arise out of the earth.
     The King James Study Bible does not give an explanation for Daniel 7:17. The following explanation is from Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible.
7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings - Four kings or four dynasties. There is no reason for supposing that they refer to individual kings, but the obvious meaning is, that they refer to four dominions or empires that would succeed one another on the earth. So the whole representation leads us to suppose, and so the passage has been always interpreted. This interpretation is confirmed, also, by Daniel 7:23, where it is expressly said that “the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” See also Daniel 7:24.
     Which shall arise out of the earth - In Daniel 7:2 the beasts are represented as coming up from the sea - the emblem of agitated nations. Here the same idea is presented more literally - that they would seem to spring up out of the earth, thus thrown into wild commotion.
     These dynasties were to be upon the earth, and they were in all things to indicate their earthly origin. Perhaps, also, it is designed by these words to denote a marked contrast between these four dynasties and the one that would follow - which would be of heavenly origin. This was the general intimation which was given to the meaning of the vision, and he was satisfied at once as to the explanation, so far as the first three were concerned; but the fourth seemed to indicate more mysterious and important events, and respecting this he was induced to ask a more particular explanation.

7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
7:23 The fourth beast, according to some critics, is not Rome but Greece. This interpretation, based on an attempt to eliminate any supernatural prediction here, must make the second and third beasts Media and Persia. However, we see from passages like Daniel 6:8 that Daniel considered the Medes and Persians as one empire. [Daniel 6:8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.]

7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
     The King James Study Bible does not provide an interpretation for Daniel 7:24. Some commentaries present an extended interpretation for this passage. I have elected to use the comments from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary for Daniel 15-28.
Daniel 15-28.
     It is desirable to obtain the right and full sense of what we see and hear from God; and those that would know, must ask by faithful and fervent prayer. The angel told Daniel plainly. He especially desired to know respecting the little horn, which made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. Here is foretold the rage of papal Rome against true Christians. St. John, in his visions and prophecies, which point in the first place at Rome, has plain reference to these visions. Daniel had a joyful prospect of the prevalence of God's kingdom among men.
     This refers to the second coming of our blessed Lord, when the saints shall triumph in the complete fall of Satan's kingdom. The saints of the Most High shall possess the kingdom for ever. Far be it from us to infer from hence, that dominion is founded on grace. It promises that the gospel kingdom shall be set up; a kingdom of light, holiness, and love; a kingdom of grace, the privileges and comforts of which shall be the earnest and first-fruits of the kingdom of glory. But the full accomplishment will be in the everlasting happiness of the saints, the kingdom that cannot be moved. The gathering together the whole family of God will be a blessedness of Christ's coming.

7:25 And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
7:25 A time and times and the dividing of time (or "a time and times and half a time") is an expression used in Daniel and in Revelation to refer to three-and-a-half years, or 1,260 days, or 42 months.

     Following are selected commentaries that you may find interesting. As stated above, theologians have gone to great lengths to impute a religious significance to these mythical beasts.

Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary:
     “Beasts” here represent the world powers, in their beast-like, groveling character. It is on the fundamental harmony between nature and spirit, between the three kingdoms of nature, history, and revelation, that Scripture symbolism rests. The selection of symbols is not arbitrary, but based on the essence of things.

Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
From John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible:
     And four great beasts came up from the sea, . . . . Which are afterwards interpreted of four kings or kingdoms, Daniel 7:17, which rose up in the world, not at once, but successively, and out of the sea or world, through the commotions and agitations of it; and these are the four monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman; compared to "beasts", because of the rapine and violence, cruelty, oppression, and tyranny, by which they were obtained, set up, supported, and maintained; and to "great ones," being not like single separate kingdoms, as the kingdom of Israel, and the like, but consisting of many kingdoms and nations, and so like beasts of an enormous size:
diverse one from another; in their situation, language, manner, strength, and power; hence expressed by divers sorts of beasts, as the lion, bear, leopard, etc.; as in Nebuchadnezzar's dream by different metals, gold, silver, brass, and iron.

Daniel 7:1-8.
Matthew Henry in his Concise Commentary interprets verses 1-8 as follows:
     This vision contains the same prophetic representations with Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The great sea agitated by the winds, represented the earth and the dwellers on it troubled by ambitious princes and conquerors. The four beasts signified the same four empires, as the four parts of Nebuchadnezzar's image. Mighty conquerors are but instruments of God's vengeance on a guilty world. The savage beast represents the hateful features of their characters. But the dominion given to each has a limit; their wrath shall be made to praise the Lord, and the remainder of it he will restrain. [Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary]

Daniel 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

From Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary:
7:24
ten horns — answering to the ten “toes” (Daniel 2:41).
     out of this kingdom — It is out of the fourth kingdom that ten others arise, whatever exterior territory any of them possess (Revelation 13:1; 17:12). rise after them — yet contemporaneous with them; the ten are contemporaries.
     Antichrist rises after their rise, at first “little” (Daniel 7:8); but after destroying three of the ten, he becomes greater than them all (Daniel 7:20,21). The three being gone, he is the eighth (compare Rev. 17:11); a distinct head, and yet “of the seven.”
     As the previous world kingdoms had their representative heads (Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar; Persia, Cyrus; Greece, Alexander), so the fourth kingdom and its Antichrists shall have their evil concentrated in the one final Antichrist. As Antiochus Epiphanes, the Antichrist of the third kingdom in Daniel 8:23-25, was the personal enemy of God, so the final Antichrist of the fourth kingdom, his antitype. The Church has endured a pagan and a papal persecution; there remains for her an infidel persecution, general, purifying, and cementing [Cecil].
     He will not merely, as Popery, substitute himself for Christ in Christ’s name, but “deny the Father and the Son” (1John 2:22). The persecution is to continue up to Christ’s second coming (Daniel 7:21,22); the horn of blasphemy cannot therefore be past; for now there is almost a general cessation of persecution.

     It is apparent that a huge amount of time and effort has been expended by theologians in their task of imputing a religious interpretation to the mythical beasts in the Bible.
     Much information in the Bible has been so distorted, added to, taken away, or repeatedly revised that much of it bears little resemblance to the original written works of the authors.
     Still, we can be thankful that a few truths did slip through the cracks.
     In spite of its many defects, the Christian religion is the most progressive religion ever to appear on our planet.