The Origins of Supernatural Beings

Hybrids- Centaurs

Centaurs

Centaurs and Satyrs are a standard highlight of ancient Greek mythology. The god Pan was a satyr depicted with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a faun or goat, and with a pair of horns on his head. Pan was the patron of the wilderness, shepherds, rustic music, and hunters. His story originates from Arcadia, and he is accredited with the invention of the panpipes. Ixion was king of the Lapiths, an ancient and established tribe in Thessaly. Ixion murdered his father-in-law, but Zeus absolved him of his crimes and invited him to a celebration in Olympus. While Ixion was at the party, he made inappropriate advances on Zeus' wife Hera. Zeus wanted to catch Ixion in the act, so he created a replica of Hera from some clouds and named her Nephele. Ixion believed that Nephele was Hera, and they had a son together named Centaurus. When Zeus saw this, he was so enraged he eternally damned him to Tartarus. Centaurus wasn't accepted by men or the gods, so he ventured off on his own to Magnesia where he joined a flock of mares atop mount Pelion and fathered the race of centaurs.

"Then, that in the profound and secret depths of her own bridal chamber, he [Ixion] assailed [Hera] the wife of Zeus. Well is it for a man to take the measure of each deed by his own stature. Unto the full deep tides of woe loves which transgress the law casts a man down, who sets foot there. For with a Cloud (Nephele) he lay, pursuing sweet falsehood, that man of folly. In semblance like [Hera] the all-high Sovereign daughter of Kronos (Cronus) son of Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven), this phantom came, this guile, proffered him by the hands of Zeus, a beauteous bane. Thus on the four-spoked wheel he gave his limbs to bondage, his own destruction. From whence is no escape, he heard the message that he must spread to all the world. Far were the Kharites (Charites, Graces) when the mother [Nephele] bore--ne'er such a mother, never such a son--her babe of monstrous breed, who had no honour amongst men nor in the laws of Heaven. She reared him up and named him Kentauros (Centaurus), and the Magnesian mares knew his as mate by Pelion's ridges; and that strange race was born [the Centaurs], like to both parents, their mother's form below, above their sire's." -Pindar's First Pythian Ode

Mount Pelion is located within Magnesia prefecture, in Thessaly, Greece. In ancient mythology, this mountain was believed to be the ancestral home of centaurs. The centaurs were an uncivilized group consisting solely of males. They were said to be savages who lived in caves, hunted their prey with clubs, and frequently abducted women. These barbaric habits led to the "centauromachy". The centauromachy was a mythic war fought between the Lapiths and the centaurs. It was instigated when King Pirithous of the Lapiths invited the centaurs to his wedding to the future queen Hippodamia. King Pirithous did this out of duty because he was related to the centaurs through their ancestor Ixion. While attending the wedding, the centaurs became drunk and abducted the wives and daughters of the guests and the bride. Pirithous had invited the legendary heroes Peleus, Theseus and Nestor to the wedding, and together the men took up arms and fought the centaurs. Many centaurs died in this battle, and the survivors barely escaped Thessaly. The remaining centaurs retreated to Mount Pholoe in Arcadia, the home of Pan and the Peloponnese.

Among those that fled was the centaur Nessus, who hid from the wrath of the heroes in Aetolia. While living in Aetolia, he started working as a ferryman, helping Aetolians and travellers to cross the river Evanus. Heracles and his wife Deianira wanted to cross the river and asked for the help of Nessus. While Nessus was carrying Deianira, he changed his mind and decided to kidnap her, but once Heracles saw his wife being carried away, he shot Nessus with a poison arrow. The poison was so potent that even the blood of Nessus became toxic. Before he died, Nessus convinced Deianira to collect his blood so she could poison Heracles. Deianira poisoned Heracles by washing his clothes in the blood of Nessus because she was jealous about his relationship with the princess Iole.

The centaurs living atop Mount Pholoe were divided. Many centaurs remained boorish and vulgar, while others sought to become civilized. Female Centaurs, called Centaurides also inhabited Mount Pholoe according to Philostratus the Elder. Centaurides were not commonly mentioned in ancient mythology, but they did appear frequently in Greek and Roman art. They are portrayed as gentle and beautiful, unlike their male counterparts.