Centaurs
Background
The Centaurs were a tribe of half-men and half-horses living in Magnesia, a coastal region in Thessaly. Centaurs were depicted in art to have the head, chest and arms of a man, while the rest of their body was that of a horse.
There were several different stories about their origin.
Centaur and Lapith Wrestling Pheidias?
XXX Methop from the South side of Parthenon, 447-442 BC
British Museum, London
One version said that the Centaurs were descendants of Centaurus, the son of Apollo and Stilbe, thus a brother of Lapithus. Lapithus’ descendants became the Thessalian tribe known as the Lapiths (Λαπίθαι).
A more popular version said that this Centaurus was a son of Ixion, the king of Thessaly, and the cloud, possibly named Nephele, who was created by Zeus and made to look like Hera. If Centaurus was the son of Ixion, then the Centaurs were very closely related to Peirithoüs.
In both versions, Centaurus mated with the mares from Magnesia, in southern Thessaly, which produced offspring that were half-horse, half-man. The Centaurs were also known as Hippocentaurs.
The Centaurs were known for their inability to drink alcohol. They became unruly when drunk. There were frequent clashes between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. The height of the conflict was reached during the wedding of Peirithoüs & Hippodameia. Peirithoüs (Peirithous) was king of the Lapiths and a friend of Theseus. Two of the Centaurs were prominent at the wedding, Eurytion and Nessus; Heracles would kill them later. With the help of some of Peirithoüs’ guests, they were able to drive the Centaurs out of Thessaly. Most fled to Arcadia where they encountered Heracles, during his 4th labour.
There were also two friendly Centaurs to humans, Cheiron and Pholus.
