CentaurZukowskic


 * __ Centaurs __**

There are many different stories on how Centaurs came about, and I will share a few of them as well as their importance, appearance, and mythological stories. Illustrations of Centaurs dating back to 3000 BC were found in India. Some believe that Centaurs originated when nomadic warriors were seen by cultures that were not familiar with horseback (e.g. the Minoans of Crete). Members of these cultures that had never set eyes on someone riding a horse might have thought they were a single creature, part man, part horse. Another, less popular theory, is that being made into Centaurs was a form of punishment for soldiers. Rather than punishment being the reason for this magical transformation, others believe that mages did it intentionally, actually breeding Centaurs to aid in battle; especially in the War of the Chosen. Another theory is that Centaurs were descendants of Centaurus, the son of Apollo. I have found that the most popular view for the origins of Centaurs is that they descended from Ixion, the king of the Lapiths (people who lived in Thessaly) and the son of Ares. Ixion fell in love with Hera, Zeus’ wife, and arranged a meeting with her to sleep with her. Zeus found out about this and made a cloud in the shape of Hera. Ixion accepted this cloud and from it, he bred Centaurs.
 * __ Origins __**

The most common centaurs are horse centaurs. They have the head, arms, and chest of a human and the torso, legs, and tail of a horse. Centaurs were seen as strong and handsome creatures that had the quickness and powerfulness of a horse and strength andintelligence of a human. They were usually depicted holding a bow and arrow. Centaurs are one of the many Chimeras, or hybrids, found in Greek mythology. Although chimeras may only exist in myths, the creatures from which they are made up of are real. Greek centaurs were also shown in other forms such as with the hindquarters of a horse attached to the back of a human. There are also dog-centaurs, deer-centaurs, and the androcephalous, or man-headed horse.
 * __ Appearance __**

Centaurs were not very highly looked upon in Greek mythology. They lived in herds on Mt. Pelion in Thessaly, Greece and always harassed the people that lived nearby. They would trample people’s crops, constantly be intoxicated, and go around raping women. Due to their hostility towards humans, they were often involved in scraps. It was not uncommon for Zeus to punish humans and gods with Centaurs. Centaurs are the opposite of the knight and horseman. Rather than mastering their instincts, the Centaurs let their instincts rule them. They are also known to be able to tell the future by merely looking into a fire, or by observing the stars. They symbolize violence, lust, adultery, heretics, and the devil. Some people see them to represent the human struggle between good and evil.
 * __ Importance __**

Chiron is one of the most well known Centaurs of all. He was the son of the god Saturn and Philyra, an ocean nymph. He did not represent the normal mentality of a Centaur, just the physical appearance. While other Centaurs lived for satanic things, Chiron was seen as a saint. He was known to be the wisest of all Centaurs, acting as a father figure to many of the gods’ children and heroes, including Achilles, Hercules, and Asclepius. He fathered an entirely new race of Centaurs, being studious, knowledgeable, and sober. He was also a famous physician and teacher and had skills in music, hunting, prophecy, and medicine. Chiron was the last Centaur in Greek mythology. Although a famous doctor, he could not heal himself when hit by a poisoned arrow and as a result, died.
 * __ Chiron __**

This battle was a very popular subject of the time with artists, sculptors, and poets. Like most other mythological stories, this myth is seen as symbolic- representing the conflict between barbarism and the civilized behavior of humankind.
 * __ Mythological Stories __**
 * War with the Lapiths.** The Centaurs are best known for their fight with the Lapiths. According to this myth, the hostility between man and Centaurs stemmed from when the Centaurs were invited to Pirithous’ wedding. Pirithous was the king of the Lapithae (a people who lived in Thessaly) and was also a son of Ixion, making him the Centaurs’ stepbrother. At the wedding celebration, the Centaurs began drinking and quickly became disorderly and violent. One of the Centaurs, Eurytion, became drunk with wine and tried to run off with Hippodamia, the King’s bride. The other Centaurs followed his example and got rowdy with other wedding guests and tried to carry off other Lapith women. A fierce battle soon erupted between the Centaurs and Lapiths. The Centaurs attacked with chunks of stone and tree trunks. A famous hero of the time, Theseus, was also at the wedding and evened out the fight by fighting for the Lapiths. Eventually the Lapiths won the battle, slaying many Centaurs.


 * Hercules and Centaurs.** There are a couple stories that describe the tension between Centaurs and Hercules. One story goes like this: Hercules entered Pholus’s (a Centaur’s) cave and was served food, but was not offered any wine. Pholus owned an unopened bottle of wine that was clearly visible in the cave, but explained that the bottle was a gift and belonged to all the Centaurs. Due to Hercules’s stature and thirst, this didn't stop him from insisting for wine, and Pholus soon ended up opening the bottle. Before long, other Centaurs smelled the wine and came running to the cave. Not too long after, a fight broke out and Hercules shot poisoned arrows at the Centaurs to drive them out of the cave. When the battle was over, Pholus was looking at one of the arrows, accidentally dropped it, and it struck his own foot and killed him.

In another popular story of Hercules and the Centaurs, Nessus, a centaur tried to rape Hercules’ wife, Deianira. Hercules walked in on this and shot Nessus with a poison arrow. As he lay on the ground dying, he urged Deianira to save some of his blood from the wound. He persuaded her to smear the blood to one of Hercules’ garments to regain his love if he ever stopped loving her. Deianira believed Nessus and saved some of the blood. Many years after this, when Hercules had cheated on her, Deianira applied Nessus’ blood to a tunic and gave it to him to wear. Little did she know that the blood was poisoned, which killed Hercules. The Centaurs had the final say in this one.


 * Chiron.** Chiron, as the son of Saturn, was the only immoral Centaur. Chiron was one of the Centaurs that was at the fight in the cave between Hercules and the Centaurs. Although he didn't take part in the fighting, he was accidentally hit by one of Hercules’s arrows. As the son of a god, Chiron couldn’t die, but would live forever with intense pain from the injury. Therefore, Chiron asked Zeus to let him die and trade his life for the release of Prometheus. Zeus allowed this and put him in the heavens as a part of the constellation Sagittarius, the archer.

Modern day depictions of Centaurs focus on their positive human aspects. They have been included in J.K Rowlings’ //Harry Potter// series, C.S Lewis’ //The Chr////onicles of Narnia//, Eoin Colfer’s //Artemis Fowl//series, and World of Warcraft. Many times, they are depicted helping heroes on their quests or adventures. This is ironic, after learning what Centaurs were really like in Greek mythology.
 * __ Modern References __**

http://www.squidoo.com/chimeramythology http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/scaffold/gg/centaur.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurs_in_popular_culture http://monsters.monstrous.com/centaurs.htm http://www.jstor.org/pss/4349592 http://www.squidoo.com/centaur http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ca-Cr/Centaurs.html#b http://www.santharia.com/bestiary/centaur.htm#Top http://www.blurtit.com/q421558.html http://www.answers.com/topic/centaur#Modern_day
 * __ Works Cited __**

http://ryanharter.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/centaur.jpg http://www.librarising.com/mythos/images/centaur2.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Florence_statue_hercules_killing_the_centaur.jpg/450px-Florence_statue_hercules_killing_the_centaur.jpg http://www.theoi.com/image/img_kentauroi.jpg http://www.thecollectorzone.com/images/products/10178_l.jpg
 * __Pictures__**