Centaurs are mythical beings from Greek mythology whose body is formed by part of a man - which corresponds to the torso, arms and head - and the rest of the body of a horse.
They represent the animal instinct in conjunction with human intelligence, metaphor for the actions of men in a situation of loss of control.
These creatures live in forests and mountains and feed on raw meat. They have a lot of physical energy and usually appear in a pack.
The symbology of centaurs is opposed, as they can be as delicate and charming as they are ignorant and aggressive. from the greek, Kentauros means "bull slayer".
Centaur Origin
This myth originated with travelers who observed cowboys always on horseback in the region of Thessaly.
Centaurs are subdivided into two lineages, namely:
- The children of Ixion and of a cloud, who represented brute force, used unscrupulously;
- The sons of Philira and Cronus, the most notable of whom was Chiron. Unlike the sons of Ixion, they employ force in the service of good.
legend of the centaur
Legend has it that Ixion would have fallen in love with Hera during a feast offered by Zeus, who, upon realizing that his guest tried to seduce his wife, resolved to entertain and shaped the form of his divine wife by employing a a cloud.
Ixion, deceived by the God of Olympus, had relations with the Hera made in copy, from whose union the centaurs would have been born.
Representing suffering, Chiron, who at birth was rejected by his mother - who was human - if became a very skilled doctor, whose experience of suffering was used to help his patients. He was tutor to Asclepius, the god of medicine.
Chiron - known as the most civilized centaur - was accidentally wounded by a poisoned arrow from Heracles (Hercules, in Roman mythology), with whom he was a friend.
Chiron, who had the privilege of immortality, offered this advantage to Prometheus, as he wanted to die in order to rest.
The Battle of Centaurs
These monstrous beings became epically known for the struggle they waged with humans, generated by their intent to kidnap and rape Hippodamia on the day of her marriage to Piritoo, king of the Lápitas and also son of Ixion
The dispute is, however, a metaphor for the conflict between the passions and the reason of the human being.
Discover other myths! read Pandora's box and The Myth of Medusa from Greek Mythology.
