Centaur is a dimorphic creature that is a hybrid of a human and a horse. It is most clearly represented in ancient Greek mythology, which gives most of the information about half-humans, half-horses. It was from these legends that the centaur moved to the screens of films and the pages of fiction books, turning into a famous character in modern fantasy. Nevertheless, the centaur was not originally invented by the Greeks.
General Description
Usually, centaurs are powerful creatures with a strong muscular body that live in the mountains or forest thickets. The bow is considered the traditional weapon of half-humans-half-horses, however, in ancient Greek artistic culture, images with cobblestones or logs were much more common.
These creatures symbolize wildness and violence, but in general they are positive characters. The character traits of centaurs are just as personalized as those of humans. Some heroes were endowed with special qualities and noble origin. Such was, for example, the famous Chiron, the teacher of Hercules. ATIn mythical literature, there are many negative characters-centaurs (Khomad, Dejanir, Ness, etc.).
Origin of the centaur
When the image of a centaur first appeared, it has not been reliably established. However, it is known that this creature was introduced into the mythical culture of Ancient Greece by the inhabitants of Crete. The latter learned about the centaurs from the Kassites, who communicated with the Mycenae for trading purposes.
The oldest historical evidence of half-humans-half-horses dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. It is assumed that the image of the centaur was formed between 1750 and 1250 BC. e. in the Middle East.
Among the Kassites (a nomadic tribe whose lifestyle was strongly associated with horses), this creature symbolized a pagan guardian deity, whose weapons were a bow and arrows. Half-humans, half-horses were carved on stone sculptures. However, this does not prove that the Kassites first invented the centaur, and did not adopt the idea from another people. But whatever the origin of half-humans, half-horses, they received their real literary development precisely in ancient Greek culture.
Centaurs in ancient Greek mythology
Like other creatures of ancient Greek mythology, centaurs have their own history of appearance. Their origin is associated with two legends. According to the first, centaurs are mortal creatures born from the king of the Lapith tribe, Ixion and Nephele (a cloud that appeared to the ruler in the form of the goddess Hera). According to another version, their descendant was only the ancestor of the centaurs. He gave rise to a new tribe, having foaled Magnesian mares.
Some centaurshad a different, unique origin. So, the famous Chiron was born from the union of the titan Kronos and the oceanid Filira, and Pholus was the son of Selena (dionysus' companion) and an unknown nymph. These centaurs stood out from their tribe in terms of civilization and education.
According to ancient Greek myths, half-humans-half-horses lived in the mountains of Thessaly and were part of the retinue of Dionysus. After the battle with the Lapiths, the centaurs were expelled from their home and spread throughout Greece. Later, this violent tribe was almost completely destroyed by Hercules, and the surviving part was captured by the singing of the sirens and died of hunger.
The only immortal member of the tribe - Chiron - was accidentally wounded by a poisonous arrow. Suffering severely, he voluntarily wished to end his life and asked the gods for help. As a result, the immortality of Chiron was transferred to Prometheus, and Zeus himself placed the centaur in the sky in the form of a constellation.
Appearance
The essence of the centaur lies in the fact that the lower part of the creature's body is completely similar to the torso of a horse, and in place of the neck there is a human torso. Such an image corresponds to the classical idea of these creatures formed in Ancient Greece.
Some earlier depictions of the centaur were of a full human body with a horse's hindquarters. Then the front legs also became equine.
The human body of the centaur in the photo of various artistic images has many variations. As a rule, he is devoid of any clothes. Male centaurs often had a rough face, a beard and disheveled long hair, and instead of human ears there were horse ears. The noble representatives of the tribe were portrayed somewhat differently. So, Chiron had clothes (tunic) and human ears. Often this centaur was depicted with laurels. The foul also symbolized civility, but never wore clothes and had horse ears. In mythology, a truly beautiful centaur is also known - a blond youth named Zillar. He had an equally beautiful wife, Gilonoma.
Thus, the Greeks had 2 types of centaurs in parallel, which were opposed to each other. Most of these creatures personified animal nature, and only a small part were the patrons of people. These differences were reflected both in the literary description of the characters and in their artistic depictions.
In modern fantasy, there are many options for the image of centaurs, which depend solely on the imagination of the authors.
Character and qualities
On the one hand, the centaur was a creature stuck between the human and animal worlds, and therefore prone to savagery, violence, carnal passions and violence. This image was probably formed on the basis of the close acquaintance of the Greeks with horse disposition. Alcohol made a particularly strong impression on the centaurs, awakening the fury of their nature. An illustrative example of this is the famous battle of half-horse people with lapiths.
However, in Greek mythologythere was also a noble image of a centaur. They were educated creatures endowed with wisdom. Such centaurs were more the exception to their tribe than the rule. The most famous of them was Chiron, who was even credited with a different origin and endowed with immortality.
The dual nature of the centaur is probably rooted in the views of the Kassites. The latter sometimes depicted this creature with two heads, one of which was human and the other dragon.
Centaurids
Centaurids were female centaurs. In mythological literature, they were mentioned very rarely and for the most part were minor episodic characters.
Centaurids were a harmonious image of external beauty and excellent spiritual qualities. The most famous representative of these creatures is Gilonoma, who was present at the most epic event associated with the centaurs - the battle against the Lapiths. In this battle, the beloved husband of the centaurid, Zillar, died. He died right in the arms of his wife. Unable to bear the grief, Gilonoma committed suicide by piercing herself with the same spear that killed her lover.
