The origin of the centaur
In Greek mythology, centaurs were creatures that were half man and half horse. They had the head, neck, chest, and arms of a man and the body and legs of a horse. Most centaurs were brutal, violent creatures known for their drunkenness and lawless behavior. They lived mainly around Mount Pelion in Thessaly, a region of northeastern Greece.
Origin of the Centaurs:
According to one account, centaurs were descended from Centaurus, a son of Apollo*. A more widely accepted account of their origin, however, is that they were descendants of Ixion, the son of Ares* and king of the Lapiths, a people who lived in Thessaly.
Ixion fell in love with Hera, the wife of Zeus*. Recklessly, Ixion arranged to meet with Hera, planning to seduce her. Zeus heard of the plan and formed a cloud in the shape of Hera. Ixion embraced the cloud form, and from this union, the race of centaurs was created.
War with the Lapiths:
The main myth relating to the centaurs involves their battle with the Lapiths. King Pirithous of the Lapiths, son of Ixion, invited the centaurs to his wedding. The centaurs became drunk and disorderly and pursued the Lapith women. One centaur even tried to run off with the king's bride. A fierce battle erupted. The centaurs used tree trunks and slabs of stone as weapons, but eventually the Lapiths won the fight, killing many centaurs. The centaurs were forced to leave Thessaly.
Hercules and Centaurs:
A number of tales describe conflict between centaurs and the Greek hero Hercules*. In one such story, Hercules came to the cave of a centaur named Pholus. Pholus served Hercules food but did not offer him any wine, though an unopened jar of wine stood in the cave. Pholus explained that the wine was a gift and was the property of all the centaurs. Nonetheless, Hercules insisted on having some wine, and Pholus opened the jar.
Chiron, a Kindly Centaur:
Not all centaurs were savage brutes. One such exception was Chiron, who became a teacher of medicine, music, hunting, and archery. The son of the god Cronos (Saturn), Chiron taught gods and heroes, including Jason*, Achilles*, Hercules, and Asclepius. Chiron was accidentally wounded by one of Hercules' poisoned arrows. As the son of a god, he would live forever and suffer from the injury forever. Chiron therefore asked Zeus to let him die. Zeus granted his request and placed him in the heavens as a star in the constellation Sagittarius, the archer.
The smell of the wine soon brought the other centaurs to the cave and before long a fight broke out. Hercules drove off the centaurs by shooting poisoned arrows at them. Afterward, Pholus
Many myths about centaurs describe their unruly behavior. was examining one of these arrows when he accidentally dropped it. It struck his foot, and the poison killed him. In another well-known story, a centaur named Nessus tried to rape Deianira, the wife of Hercules. Hercules caught him and shot the centaur with a poisoned arrow. As he lay dying, Nessus urged Deianira to save some of the blood from his wound. He told her that if Hercules ever stopped loving her, she could regain his love by applying the blood to a garment that Hercules would wear. Deianira did as Nessus suggested and saved some of his blood.
Many years later, when Hercules had been unfaithful to her, Deianira gave him a tunic to wear, a tunic that she had smeared with the blood of Nessus. The blood was poisoned, and Hercules died. In this way, Nessus took his revenge on Hercules.
Literature and Art:
Centaurs usually represented wild and bestial behavior in Greek literature and art. They appeared on many vases, and their fight with the Lapiths was depicted in sculptures in various temples. Because of their drunken behavior, centaurs were sometimes shown pulling the chariot of Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine and revelry. At other times, they were pictured being ridden by Eros, the god of love, because of their lustful ways. In Christian art of the Middle Ages, centaurs symbolized the animal nature of man.
Origin of the Centaurs:
According to one account, centaurs were descended from Centaurus, a son of Apollo*. A more widely accepted account of their origin, however, is that they were descendants of Ixion, the son of Ares* and king of the Lapiths, a people who lived in Thessaly.
Ixion fell in love with Hera, the wife of Zeus*. Recklessly, Ixion arranged to meet with Hera, planning to seduce her. Zeus heard of the plan and formed a cloud in the shape of Hera. Ixion embraced the cloud form, and from this union, the race of centaurs was created.
War with the Lapiths:
The main myth relating to the centaurs involves their battle with the Lapiths. King Pirithous of the Lapiths, son of Ixion, invited the centaurs to his wedding. The centaurs became drunk and disorderly and pursued the Lapith women. One centaur even tried to run off with the king's bride. A fierce battle erupted. The centaurs used tree trunks and slabs of stone as weapons, but eventually the Lapiths won the fight, killing many centaurs. The centaurs were forced to leave Thessaly.
Hercules and Centaurs:
A number of tales describe conflict between centaurs and the Greek hero Hercules*. In one such story, Hercules came to the cave of a centaur named Pholus. Pholus served Hercules food but did not offer him any wine, though an unopened jar of wine stood in the cave. Pholus explained that the wine was a gift and was the property of all the centaurs. Nonetheless, Hercules insisted on having some wine, and Pholus opened the jar.
Chiron, a Kindly Centaur:
Not all centaurs were savage brutes. One such exception was Chiron, who became a teacher of medicine, music, hunting, and archery. The son of the god Cronos (Saturn), Chiron taught gods and heroes, including Jason*, Achilles*, Hercules, and Asclepius. Chiron was accidentally wounded by one of Hercules' poisoned arrows. As the son of a god, he would live forever and suffer from the injury forever. Chiron therefore asked Zeus to let him die. Zeus granted his request and placed him in the heavens as a star in the constellation Sagittarius, the archer.
The smell of the wine soon brought the other centaurs to the cave and before long a fight broke out. Hercules drove off the centaurs by shooting poisoned arrows at them. Afterward, Pholus
Many myths about centaurs describe their unruly behavior. was examining one of these arrows when he accidentally dropped it. It struck his foot, and the poison killed him. In another well-known story, a centaur named Nessus tried to rape Deianira, the wife of Hercules. Hercules caught him and shot the centaur with a poisoned arrow. As he lay dying, Nessus urged Deianira to save some of the blood from his wound. He told her that if Hercules ever stopped loving her, she could regain his love by applying the blood to a garment that Hercules would wear. Deianira did as Nessus suggested and saved some of his blood.
Many years later, when Hercules had been unfaithful to her, Deianira gave him a tunic to wear, a tunic that she had smeared with the blood of Nessus. The blood was poisoned, and Hercules died. In this way, Nessus took his revenge on Hercules.
Literature and Art:
Centaurs usually represented wild and bestial behavior in Greek literature and art. They appeared on many vases, and their fight with the Lapiths was depicted in sculptures in various temples. Because of their drunken behavior, centaurs were sometimes shown pulling the chariot of Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine and revelry. At other times, they were pictured being ridden by Eros, the god of love, because of their lustful ways. In Christian art of the Middle Ages, centaurs symbolized the animal nature of man.
Evidence that centaurs exist
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Though the centaur is a creature of folklore, the skeletal remains of “The Centaur of Volos” have been on permanent display at the John
C. Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) since 1994. The skeletal remains of this cryptid are part of an exhibit |
entitled “The Centaur Excavations of Volos, “ which displays the bones of a centaur and details the history of the archaeological dig in which the remains were supposedly unearthed. Instead of a standing centaur, The Centaur of Volos is half excavated in a burial site with the skeleton half exposed in dirt with associated ceramic artifacts. The case is made out of simulated marble and fake wood, and has a plaque that reads “one of three centaur burials discovered in 1980 by the Archaeological Society of Argos Orestiko eight kilometers northeast of Volos, Greece.” There is also a photo of a relief sculpture from the Parthenon and an illustration of the anatomy of an adult male centaur.
In 1980, Bill Willers, artist and professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, constructed the skeletal remains of The Centaur of Volos from real human bones and the bones of a Shetland pony. The human bones that Willers used were from an anatomical specimen, a human skeleton from India, in the biology department at his university. The human and pony bones were tea-stained to give them a uniform color and make them look authentic.
The Centaur of Volos was first displayed at the Madison Art Center, then went on to other colleges in the mid-1980’s, and finally ended up in storage until 1994. In 1992, Beauvais Lyons and Neil Greenberg, both from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, campaigned to raise money to purchase the bone sculpture for the university. They were ultimately successful and The Centaur of Volos was installed in its current display case in the Jack E. Reese Galleria at the Hodges Library in May of 1994.
Like the centaur is a mixture of human and animal elements, this exhibit is a mixture of science and art for its use of real human and animal bones articulated as a sculpture to present a mythological creature as real. According to Lyons, the exhibit was designed to encourage students to rely on their critical thinking skills, and not accept everything as fact no matter how believable it looks or sounds, even from a reliable source like a university exhibit.
In 2008 Bill Willers commissioned a standing centaur from Skulls Unlimited that was made with real human bones and articulated with the bones of a zebra. This sculpture was titled the “Centaur of Tymfi” and was part of the “Mythological Wildlife” exhibit at the International Wildlife Museum in 2012. The Centaur of Tymfi Is currently on display at The Barnum Museum, in Bridgeport, CT until August 30, 2014.
In 1980, Bill Willers, artist and professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, constructed the skeletal remains of The Centaur of Volos from real human bones and the bones of a Shetland pony. The human bones that Willers used were from an anatomical specimen, a human skeleton from India, in the biology department at his university. The human and pony bones were tea-stained to give them a uniform color and make them look authentic.
The Centaur of Volos was first displayed at the Madison Art Center, then went on to other colleges in the mid-1980’s, and finally ended up in storage until 1994. In 1992, Beauvais Lyons and Neil Greenberg, both from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, campaigned to raise money to purchase the bone sculpture for the university. They were ultimately successful and The Centaur of Volos was installed in its current display case in the Jack E. Reese Galleria at the Hodges Library in May of 1994.
Like the centaur is a mixture of human and animal elements, this exhibit is a mixture of science and art for its use of real human and animal bones articulated as a sculpture to present a mythological creature as real. According to Lyons, the exhibit was designed to encourage students to rely on their critical thinking skills, and not accept everything as fact no matter how believable it looks or sounds, even from a reliable source like a university exhibit.
In 2008 Bill Willers commissioned a standing centaur from Skulls Unlimited that was made with real human bones and articulated with the bones of a zebra. This sculpture was titled the “Centaur of Tymfi” and was part of the “Mythological Wildlife” exhibit at the International Wildlife Museum in 2012. The Centaur of Tymfi Is currently on display at The Barnum Museum, in Bridgeport, CT until August 30, 2014.