Centaur
A bronze statue of a centaur, after the Younger Centaur. The Furietti Centaurs (known as the Old Centaur and Young Centaur, or Older Centaur and Younger Centaur, when being treated separately are a
Creature
Name:	Centaur
AKA:	Kentaur, Kentauros, Centaurus
Classification
Grouping:	Legendary creature
Sub grouping:	Hybrid
Similar creatures:	Minotaur, satyr, harpy
Data
Mythology:	Greek
Region:	Greece
Habitat:	Land

In Greek mythology, the Centaurs (from Ancient Greek: Κένταυροι - Kéntauroi) are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature (often known as "fabulous creatures" in historical literature In Biology, hybrid has two meanings The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( Greek:, Mīnṓtauros) was a creature that was part man and part bull. In Greek mythology, satyrs (Σάτυροι Satyroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus – " Satyresses quot In Greek mythology, a harpy ("snatcher" from harpȳia ἅρπυια harpūia) was any one of the mainly winged death-spirits best known for constantly Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted as the torso of a human joined at the (human's) waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece Thanks to its hardy nature pottery bulks large in the archaeological record of Ancient Greece, and because we have so much of it (some 100000 vases are recorded in the Corpus Wither redirects here For the comic character see Wither (comics.

This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron. In Speculative fiction and loosely applied in Mythology, a liminal being is a fantasy character that combines two distinct states of simultaneous existence within In Greek mythology, the Lapiths were a legendary people whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion. In Greek mythology, Chiron or Cheiron ("hand" was held as the superlative Centaur among his brethren

The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera). In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious In Greek mythology, Nephele (from Greek: nephos, "cloud" Latinized to Nubes) was a cloud Nymph who figured prominently In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hera (ˈhɪərə or /ˈhɛrə/ Greek) or Here ( in Ionic and Homer Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. In Greek mythology, Centaurus was the founder of the Centaur race - a breed of half-men half-horse warriors that inhabited northern Greece. This Centaurus was either the son of Ixion and Nephele (instead of the Centaurs) or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious In Greek mythology, Nephele (from Greek: nephos, "cloud" Latinized to Nubes) was a cloud Nymph who figured prominently Stilbe in Greek mythology was a Nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus and the Naiad Creusa. See also Pineios River (Thessaly and Pineios River (Peloponnese. In the latter version of the story his twin brother was Lapithus, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins. In Greek mythology, the Lapiths were a legendary people whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion.

Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, Mount Pholoe in Arcadia and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Magnesia (Μαγνησία Magnisía, maɣniˈsia deriving from the tribe name Magnetes, is the name of the southeastern area of Thessaly Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. Arcadia or Arkadía ( Greek Αρκαδία is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. For the Laconian dialect see Doric Greek For the Ancient Kingdom see Sparta For the laconic expression see Laconic

Contents 1 Centauromachy 2 Theories of origin 3 Female Centaurs 4 Persistence in the medieval world 5 Modern Day 6 Centaurs in modern fiction 7 See also 8 References 9 Sources 10 External links

Centauromachy

The Centaurs are best known for their fight with the Lapithae, caused by their attempt to carry off Hippodamia and the rest of the Lapith women, on the day of her marriage to Pirithous, king of the Lapithae, himself the son of Ixion. Sebastiano Ricci ( August 1, 1659 - 15 May 1734) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. Hippodamia, from hippos (horse and damazo (to tame "Tamer of horses" was the bride of King Pirithous of the Lapiths. In Greek mythology, Pirithous - Πειρίθοος (also transliterated as Perithoos, Peirithoos or Peirithous) was the King of the In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious The strife among these cousins is a metaphor for the conflict between the lower appetites and civilized behavior in humankind. Theseus, a hero and founder of cities, who happened to be present, threw the balance in favor of the right order of things, and assisted Pirithous. For other uses see Theseus (disambiguation Theseus (Θησεύς was a Legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered The Centaurs were driven off or destroyed. ^[1][2][3]. Another Lapith hero, Caeneus, who was invulnerable to weapons, was beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks and the branches of trees. In Greek mythology, Caeneus ( Ancient Greek Καινεύς or Kaineus was a Lapith hero and originally a Thessalonian woman Caenis Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as wild as untamed horses. Like the Titanomachy, the defeat of the Titans by the Olympian gods, the contests with the Centaurs typify the struggle between civilization and barbarism. Titanomachy (epic poem In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans (Τιτανομαχία was the ten-year series of battles fought between In Greek mythology, the Titans ( Greek: Tītā́n; plural Tītânes) were a race of powerful Deities that ruled during the legendary The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon ( Greek: Δωδεκάθεον

The Centauromachy is most famously portrayed in the Parthenon metopes by Phidias and a Renaissance-era sculpture by Michelangelo. The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis Phidias (or Pheidias; in Ancient Greek,; c[[ 80 BC]] c 430 BC) son of Charmides was an ancient Greek Battle of the Centaurs is a relief done by the Italian High Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti, around 1492

Theories of origin

The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a non-riding culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world, to nomads who were mounted on horses. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. The theory goes that such riders would appear as half-man, half-animal (Bernal Díaz del Castillo reported that the Aztecs had this misapprehension about Spanish cavalrymen). Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1496 &ndash 1584 was a Conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hernán Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political ^[4] Horse taming and horseback culture arose first in the southern steppe grasslands of Central Asia, perhaps approximately in modern Kazakhstan. There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the

Persistence of the Centaur myth in the Roman Empire was probably reinforced by the Hun invasions (in particular Attila), where mounted archery was especially devastating. ^[5]

The Lapith tribe of Thessaly, who were the kinsmen of the Centaurs in myth, were described as the inventors of horse-back riding by Greek writers. The Thessalian tribes also claimed their horse breeds were descended from the centaurs.

Of the various Classical Greek authors who mentioned centaurs, Pindar was the first who describes undoubtedly a combined monster. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient Previous authors (Homer etc) only use words such as Pheres (Beasts) that could also mean ordinary savage men riding ordinary horses. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the However, contemporaneous representations of hybrid centaurs can be found in archaic Greek art. Greece has a rich and varied artistic history spanning some 5000 years

Writer Robert Graves has speculated that the Centaurs of Greek myth were a dimly-remembered, pre-Hellenic fraternal earth cult who had the horse as a totem. Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. A totem is any supposed entity that watches over or assists a group of people such as a family Clan or tribe ( Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Webster's A similar theory was incorporated into Mary Renault's The Bull from the Sea. Mary Renault (pronounced Ren-olt ( 4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983) born Mary Challans, was an English Writer

The Greek word kentauros could be etymologized as ken - tauros = "piercing bull". Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time Another possible etymology can be "bulls slayer". Some say that the Greeks took the constellation of Centaurus, and also its name "piercing bull", from Mesopotamia, where it symbolized the god Baal who represents rain and fertility, fighting with and piercing with his horns the demon Mot who represents the summer drought. Centaurus ( Centaur) is a bright constellation of the southern hemisphere. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" (In Greece, Mot became the constellation of Lupus. Lupus (ˈljuːpəs Wolf) is a southern Constellation. It is one of the 88 modern constellations and was also one of the 48 in Ptolemy 's Almagest ) Later in Greece, the constellation of Centaurus was reinterpreted as a man riding a horse, and linked to legends of Greece being invaded by tribes of horsemen from the north. The idea of a combined monster may have arisen as an attempt to fit the pictorial figure to the stars better.

Alexander Hislop in his book The Two Babylons theorized that the word is derived from the Semitic Kohen and Tor via phonetic shift the less prominent consonants being lost over time ,with it developing into Khen Tor or Ken-Tor, and being transliterated phonetically into Ionian as Kentaur. Alexander Hislop (Born at Duns, Berwickshire, 1807 died Arbroath, 13 March, 1865) was a Free Church of Scotland minister The Two Babylons was an Anti-Catholic religious Pamphlet produced initially by the Scottish theologian and Protestant Presbyterian In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Phonetics (from the Greek φωνή ( phonê) "sound" or "voice" is the study of the physical sounds of human speech In Articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a Speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper Vocal tract, the upper vocal Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects)

Female Centaurs

Though female centaurs, called Kentaurides are not mentioned in early Greek literature and art, they do appear occasionally in later antiquity. Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha) is one of the 26 administrative regions of France. Kentaurides (or Centaurides) are the Female members of the Kentauroi Tribe, a tribe of Centaurs in Greek mythology. A Macedonian mosaic of the C4th BCE^[6] is one of the earliest examples of the Centauress in art. Ovid^[7] also mentions a centauress named Hylonome who committed suicide when her lover Cyllarus was killed in the war with the Lapiths. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including Hylonome was a female Centaur in Greek mythology. She was present at the battle against the Lapiths, where she lost her husband the centaur Cyllarus Cyllarus was a Centaur in Greek mythology. He was handsome and valiant and dearly loved his centaur wife Hylonome.

In a description of a painting in Neapolis, the Greek rhetorician Philostratus the Elder describes them as sisters and wives of the male centaurs who live on Mount Pelion with their children. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Philostratus, was the name of four Greek Sophists of the Roman imperial period: (c

"How beautiful the Centaurides are, even where they are horses; for some grow out of white mares, others are attached to chestnut mares, and the coats of others are dappled, but they glisten like those of horses that are well cared for. There is also a white female Centaur that grows out of a black mare, and the very opposition of the colours helps to produce the united beauty of the whole. "^[8]

In the Disney Classic Fantasia, during the Pastoral Symphony, some of the main characters are female centaurs. Fantasia is a 1940 Animated film produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. However, the Disney studio called them "Centaurettes" instead of Kentaurides. Kentaurides (or Centaurides) are the Female members of the Kentauroi Tribe, a tribe of Centaurs in Greek mythology.

Persistence in the medieval world

Centaurs preserved a Dionysian connection in the 12th century Romanesque carved capitals of Mozac Abbey in the Auvergne, where other capitals depict harvesters, boys riding goats (a further Dionysiac theme) and griffins guarding the chalice that held the wine. In Russian, Lubok (Cyrillic Лубок) means a variety of Russian Folk art such as prints in Woodcut, characterized by simple Graphics In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which In several traditions of Architecture including Classical architecture, the capital (from the Latin caput 'head' forms the crowning member Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha) is one of the 26 administrative regions of France. The griffin is a Legendary creature with the body of a Lion and the head and often wings of an Eagle. A chalice (from Latin calix, cup borrowed from Greek kalyx, shell husk is a goblet intended to hold drink

A centaur-like half-human half-equine creature called Polkan (Russian: Полкан) appeared in Russian folklore, folk art, and lubok prints of the 17th-19th centuries. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Slavic mythology is the Mythological aspect of the Religion that was practised by the ancient Slavs. In Russian, Lubok (Cyrillic Лубок) means a variety of Russian Folk art such as prints in Woodcut, characterized by simple Graphics

Modern Day

• The John C. Hodges library at The University of Tennessee hosts a permanent exhibit of a "Centaur from Volos", in its library. The John C Hodges Library is the main library of the University of Tennessee. Volos (Βόλος is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greek mainland about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km south from Thessaloniki The exhibit, made by combining a study human skeleton with the skeleton of a Shetland pony is entitled "Do you believe in Centaurs?" and was meant to mislead students in order to make them more critically aware, according to the exhibitors. The Shetland pony is a breed of Pony originating in the Shetland Isles. ^[9]

• A centaur is one of the symbols associated with Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated. The Iota Phi Theta Fraternity ( ΙΦΘ) is a nationally incorporated predominantly African-American fraternity was founded on September 19 1963

• A centaur is also the mascot of Delta Lambda Phi National Social Fraternity. Delta Lambda Phi ( ΔΛΦ) is a national social fraternity for Gay, Bisexual, and progressive men Whereas centaurs in Greek mythology were generally symbolic of chaos and unbridled passions, Delta Lambda Phi's centaur is modeled after Chiron and represents honor, moderation and tempered masculinity. Delta Lambda Phi ( ΔΛΦ) is a national social fraternity for Gay, Bisexual, and progressive men Honor or Honour (see spelling differences) (the latter directly from the Latin word honos honoris) is the evaluation of a person's Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes

• Centaurs, among many other fantastic creatures, played a key role in one of the animated shorts from Disney's Fantasia. Among them were the typical white, bay, and chestnut centaurs, along with various unnatural colors, and also a pair of "Nubian" centaurs which were dark-skinned and Zebra.

• Tomb Raider 1 and Tomb Raider Anniversary both feature centaurs and centaur mutants as foe. Tomb Raider is a Video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. A mutant is an individual organism or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of Mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA Tomb Raider 1 was released in 1996 and Tomb Raider Anniversary - 2007. Tomb Raider is a Video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

• The Mortal Kombat character Motaro is the leader of his centaur race, with his first appearance in game he is a boss character and made to be hard to beat. Motaro is a Fictional character in the Mortal Kombat Fighting game series

• Buck 65's 1997 song "The Centaur" is a first person narrative about a physically powerful man who just wants to be taken seriously. Richard Terfry, better known as Buck 65, is a Canadian hip hop artist MC and Turntablist.

Centaurs in modern fiction

Centaurs have appeared in many places in modern fiction, and may be regarded as a fantasy trope. A literary trope (from Greek τρόπος - tropos "turn" related to the root of τρέπω - trepō "to turn to direct

See also

Other hybrid creatures appear in Greek mythology, always with some liminal connection that links Hellenic culture with archaic or non-Hellenic cultures:

• Harpy
• Minotaur
• Mermaids
• Satyrs
• Sphinx
• Typhon

References

Sources

• M. Grant and J. Hazel. Who's Who in Greek Mythology. David McKay & Co Inc, 1979.
• Rose, Carol (2001). Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. , 72. ISBN 0393322114.  

External links

• Theoi Project on Centaurs in literature
• Centaurides on female centaurs
• "MythWeb" article on centaurs
• Harry Potter Lexicon article on centaurs in the Harry Potter universe

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