Ark and Laura in Florence 2005 (107 of 172)

Legends say that a Centaur is half man, half horse. Its head, trunk and arms are those of a man. Its legs and remaining body are those of a horse. It feeds on living flesh and lives like a beast in the forests of Thessaly. They are said to be brutal, erratic and generally frightening all around.

Centaurs apparently have a wild craving for wine and women. They can be hospitable one moment, irrational the next. Never trust a Centaur, they have a reputation for betraying you e.g. as the ferryman Charon who intends to rape Hercules’ bride Deianeira after sailing her over the river out of Hercules’ reach.

The origin of Centaurs is said to be because the priest Ixion dared to fall in love with the goddess Hera. Zeus punished the priest by confusing him so that he landed in a cloud thinking it was Hera. Being enamored with the cloud that he tought was Hera, he "fertilized" it and the cloud gave birth to the Centaurs.

It is said that there were a few reliable Centaurs e.g. Chiron (as opposed to Charon). Chiron was famous for his wisdom and knowledge and was the tutor of many a Greek hero. He was the offspring of the Titan Cronus and the Nymph Philyra. His father took the shape of a horse in order to seduce Philyra. When Philyra saw this half man-half horse abomination, she begged the gods to change her into a linden tree leaving Chiron motherless. Apollo and Artemis took pity on Chiron and taught him the divine arts of medicine and hunting. Chiron became a very famous teacher and founded a school at Mt. Pelion in Thessaly where he taught great heroes such as Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri), Peleus, Achilles, Nestor, Odysseus, Actaeon, Diomedes and many of the Argonauts, for whom he made a sea chart when they left for their expedition.

Chiron was accidentally killed by Hercules in the battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Hercules shot Chiron with one of his famous arrows, dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra of Lernae. Chiron had been previously granted immortality but suffered so horribly from the wound made by Hercules that his immortality was given to Prometheus so Chiron could die and end his suffering. Because of Chiron’s nobility, Zeus placed him in the stars as the constellation Sagittarius.

Another famous and kind Centaur is Pholus. Hercules asked for hospitality from Pholus who was known for his benevolence. Pholus, as the good host he was, served a grandiose meal for Hercules. Hercules then took an extraordinary wine reserved only for the Centaurs without permission. When the bottle was opened the odor spread across the countryside causing the furious Centaurs to surround Pholus’ cave and attack Hercules who managed to kill a great number of them and scare the rest away. Pholus took no part in the battle but was simply burying his kinsmen when Hercules mortally wounded him in the hoof (Hercules has a way of accidentally killing innocent Centaurs). Hercules buried the innocent victim with an honorary funeral by a mountain that has since then been called Pholoë.