Centaur

**Overview**FablehavenWizarding WorldMythologyXenaTESPercy JacksonNarnia
A rice of highly intelligent, loyal, and honorable creatures. All are warriors, while some are prophets, stargazers, or healers. They only live until their sixties, with most only living until their fifties, with many dying in battle in their 30's or 40's.

Oaten cakes, apples, herbs, wine, and cheese formed the staple of a Centaur's diet. Centaurs had two stomachs, one of a horse and one of a man, so they had to fill both of these stomachs, making inviting a Centaur over for the week-end a serious thing. Their breakfast might include porridge, pavendors, kidneys, bacon, an omelette, cold ham, toast, marmalade, coffee and beer. They then graze for an hour before eating hot mash, some oats and a bag of sugar.

It is auspicious to have one serve as an army general. It is a great honor to ride a centaur, one must ride bareback, it is seen as a disgraceful act for a centaur to let someone ride them. No one would dare laugh at them or try to put a saddle on one. The most respected. Excellent strategists, good at knowing how to kill someone who is riding on a horse. Great archers. Brave and courageous. Bigger aquiline nose, long ears, no eyebrows. Human parts are like stern and beautiful giants. Usually compound names.

* Cloudbirth
* Glenstorm
* Ironhoof, Suncloud & Rainstone
* Lightning Bolt (films)
* Oreius (films)
* Roonwit
* Windmane (films)

* Centaurs originally come from Greek Mythology, and were known as being wild, violent and lustful, with the exception of the noble Chiron [[1]]. He developed the art of stargazing, believed that certain aspects of the future could be deciphered from them, and was also a skilled healer. It was from Chiron that C.S. Lewis based the Centaurs of Narnia from.

Centaurs were notorious for being overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents. Each Centaur was also wild and lusty, except for the most well-known centaur, Chiron. True centaurs were born of sun and raincloud, until the female centaurs (called **Centaurides**) came from some normal horses, and centaurs started out like normal creatures, from conceived from baby to adult. Chiron was another exception. He was born from Kronos and the nymph Philyra. He was half-horse because Kronos was half-horse when he was with Philyra.

Several years later, Hercules had been out on another adventure and his wife had heard rumors he had fallen for another woman named Lole, daughter of King Oechalia. She covered his favorite robe in the centaur's blood and sent Lichas, a messenger, to deliver it to him in an attempt to win him back. When Hercules put on his robe, the poison burned his skin, when he tried to take off the robe, he took off his flesh too. Knowing that he would die soon, he ripped up a few olive trees and created his funeral pyre. The blood eventually killed him, much to his wife's horror. With the help of a friend, it was set on fire with Hercules on the pile, this way burning his mortal part and ascending to Olympus. Horrified at what she had done, Deïanira subsequently kills herself with a sword.

### *The Titan's Curse*

Travis and Connor Stoll give Phoebe a t-shirt laced with centaur blood (much like Hercules' robe) as revenge for her actions against them during Capture the Flag. This causes her to break out into hives, and she is unable to go on the quest to save Artemis. Later, it is revealed that Aphrodite had given the Stoll brothers the t-shirt in order to let Percy Jackson go on the quest.

### *The Battle of the Labyrinth*

Centaur blood is used in the traps used against the Titan army.
Centaurs are a nomadic, intelligent, and spiritual beast race that possesses the head and torso of a tall powerfully-built man and the lower body of a horse. They are legendary creatures who are worshipped by some and despised by others. Considered to be ancient and mysterious, centaurs are capable of sophisticated speech, have their own language, and refer to others as "mortals", suggesting that they possess a greater lifespan. In Valenwood, centaurs were one of the many civilizations inhabiting the province's vast jungles, predating the elven inhabitants arrival. Following the fall of the Second Empire, they came to inhabit the abandoned human trading posts, and families of centaurs attended revelries in Falinesti alongside Bosmer, Wood Orcs, and Imga. The Elden Hollow beneath Elden Root was the final resting place for generations of centaurs and minotaurs. In High Rock, centaurs made their homes in the woods and hills of Bangkorai, having been more commonly found in the First Era. Their populations dwindled by the Second Era, but proliferated to higher numbers later on. By the late Third Era, they were still encountered in the Illiac Bay regions of High Rock and Hammerfell.
Legends of their exploits range from being described as epic to pornographic, perhaps for no better reason than that they have varied personalities. Capable of using weapons such as spears and bows, there are few who are equal to them in battle. Speakers of Centaurian, which was taught by the Resolution of Z'en, can prevent them from attacking. According to the Conclave of the Eleven Forces, they are "true followers of the Old Ways", referring to the complex system of ancestor worship that the Psijic Order itself espouses. Centaurs are in tune with Y'ffre's will.
A **Centaur** is a mythological creature, that is made up of the upper torso of a man and the body of a horse. They possess the strength of a horse and are an all-male race, making them a traditional enemy of the Amazons. The fact that centaurs must procreate with human women is made socially difficult by the fact that such relationships are heavily frowned upon in most parts of the known world. Though pregnancy with a centaur is not particularly difficult, the actual birth often is, leading to many centaurs being delivered via Caesarian Section.

## Contents

* 1Contents
* 2In The Xenaverse
	+ 2.1Centaurs as Outcasts
	+ 2.2Hercules and Centaurs
	+ 2.3Solan Battle of Corinth
	+ 2.4The Amazons and Forgiving Xena
	+ 2.5Genocide

## Contents

* 1In The Xenaverse
	+ 1.1Centaurs as Outcasts
	+ 1.2Hercules and Centaurs
	+ 1.3Solan Battle of Corinth
	+ 1.4The Amazons and Forgiving Xena
	+ 1.5Genocide
* 2Gallery
* 3References

## In The Xenaverse

### Centaurs as Outcasts

Centaurs often found it difficult to integrate into society with other mortals. Nessus was jealous of Hercules and so made a deal with Hera to try to kill him.

In Nespa, Centaurs were hired as farmhands but because they were so much stronger and capable of more work than humans, they were often hired instead of men thus limiting the number of jobs available. This caused tensions to rise between men and Centaurs and a brief battle broke out at the wedding of Penelope and Marcus of Nespa.

A Centaur called Deric married the human woman, Lyla. Together they had a son, Kefor. They were ostracized from society. Lyla was finally murdered for associating with Centaurs.

### Hercules and Centaurs

The hero Hercules had two Centaurs as teachers and mentors. Ceridian had a hand in raising and teaching Hercules in his childhood. Later, Hercules and other heroes were taught to be warriors by Cheiron at his Academy.

### Solan Battle of Corinth

The Centaurs were one half of the battle at Corinth, against Xena's and Borias's army. Borias realized that Xena was overstepping the line and went up against his own army and worked with the Centaurs to stop Xena.

The night that Xena went into labor with Solan, Borias was killed by Dagnine. Xena gave Solan away to Kaleipus, a noble and trusted Centaur. She hoped that he would grow up away from the bloodshed and the violence.

### The Amazons and Forgiving Xena

Roughly ten or so years after the battle at Corinth, a warlord, Krytus, frames a Centaur, Phantes, for the death of an Amazon, Terreis. Xena and the Centaurs must call a truce in order to discover the true identity of the murderer of Terreis.

### Genocide

After the 25-year sleep, the son of Ephiny, Xenan, is hunted by the son of Borias, Belach, as he believes that Xenan has kidnapped his daughter, when in fact they have fallen in love and she is heavily pregnant with his child. Ephiny talks to Gabrielle from the other side through their Amazon bond, asking for her and Xena to assist her son in escaping from Belach.

In his attempt to find his daughter and anger for the entire Centaur race, Belach kills every Centaur in sight and puts them on the brink of extinction. Xenan is now the only surviving Centaur and must allow for his child to be born, in order to continue the Centaur race.

Xena manages to talk some sense into Belach, explaining who Borias was and what he done, causing him to call off the attack and allow Xenan and his daughter to live together.
**Centaurs** are brilliant thinkers, gifted artisans, and formidable warriors. These muscular taurans have a human head and torso fused to a horse's body. Centaurs tend to be self-important an often look down on others, in particular, Satyrs. They neither seek nor appreciate admiration from lesser creatures and fiercely protect their own property.

There is a herd of them at Grunhold, in Fablehaven under the leadership of Graymane, and some at the Herdlands in Wyrmroost under the leadership of Amulon. Though generally aloof, they have forged alliances with caretakers in times of emergency.

In *Grip of the Shadow Plague*, two Centaurs, Broadhoof and Cloudwing, were the first Centaurs to appear in the series. They were Centaur scouts when two of their team were suddenly turned into dark Centaurs and attacked them. They fled to the nearest location dark creatures cannot enter, near the Pond surrounding the Fairy Queen's Shrine where their dark adversaries could not follow. The other creatures who took refuge there, especially the Satyrs were not too happy about this as the Centaurs seemed to be annoyed by their presence. The two species are known to not get along very well. The Centaurs later joined the final battle in a desperate attempt to get rid of the shadow plague. During this battle, Broadhoof lost his life in Kurisock's Domain in a desperate struggle between light and shadow. The other Centaurs did not think his death was worth saving all of Fablehaven, showing that they feel that they are more important than everyone else.

In *Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary*, the Centaurs owned the first horn of a Unicorn which they treasure and keep as the Soul of Grunhold, heavily guarded. They refuse to lend it to anyone, even in a time of dire need as Graymane, the leader of the Centaurs at Fablehaven made clear.

In *Wrath of the Dragon King*, some Centaurs lives at the Herdlands, although, their domain switched to the Adjoining Meadows, the Barrows, and Lackluster Woods after the Taurans there forced Kendra, Seth, Tanu, Calvin, and Eve off the Safe Road.

## Known Centaurs

* Bloodthorn
* Broadhoof - deceased, slain by a magical force
* Cloudwing
* Edgerunner
* Fleetfoot
* Graymane - leader of the Centaurs at Grunhold, Fablehaven
* Quickstride
* Skygazer
* Stormbrow

"*Forest-dwellers who have the torso of a human but the body of a horse, and who are gifted in Divination.*"
— Description of centaurs[src]

A **centaur** was a magical creature whose head, torso, and arms appeared to be human and were joined to a horse's lower body. They were, however, their own individual species, and thus were not half-breeds. They also had a rich history and were known for being naturally talented in archery, healing magic, divination and astronomy.

Despite possessing "human intelligence", centaurs were classified as Beasts by the British Ministry of Magic, at their own request, as they were unhappy at having to share Being status with hags and vampires, known dark creatures.

## Contents

* 1Contents
* 2Description
	+ 2.1Physical appearance
	+ 2.2Mannerisms
	+ 2.3Abilities
* 3Habitat
* 4Relationship with wizardkind
* 5Known centaurs
* 6See also
* 7Behind the scenes

## Contents

* 1Description
	+ 1.1Physical appearance
	+ 1.2Mannerisms
	+ 1.3Abilities
* 2Habitat
* 3Relationship with wizardkind
* 4Known centaurs
* 5See also
* 6Behind the scenes
* 7Appearances
* 8Notes and references

## Description

### Physical appearance

"*And into the clearing came — was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail.*"
— Description of a centaur[src]

Like horses, centaurs could come in a variety of colours, ranging from deep black to white. A centaur by the name of Firenze had white-blonde hair, a body light in colour, and possessed astonishingly blue eyes; Magorian on the other hand possessed black hair and was chestnut in colour. Centaurs had the body of a horse, and the torso, arms, and head of a human. Their upper bodies were so humanlike Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil found the centaur Firenze's human side physically attractive.

Centaurs were not in fact half-breeds, but an entirely different species on their own. They were not very pleased to be insulted, particularly where their lineage was concerned, as Dolores Umbridge found out the hard way.

Centaurs were also natural born Seers, in particular the centaur Firenze who taught alongside Sybill Trelawney in Divination class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Centaurs were known to be gifted in Divination. Indeed, the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest regularly made vague allusions to seeing the future, as when the centaur Firenze told Harry Potter that they were fated to meet again, and when he and Bane spoke of the "intermission" of sorts, between the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He also mentioned to his class at Hogwarts that centaurs spent years trying to master their particular art of divining the fates.

Centaurs on the whole seemed also to be rather proud of their species, which was evident in their testiness whenever anyone even accidentally alluded to them being "used" or in any way employed by humankind, as when Firenze was chastised for allowing Harry Potter to ride to safety on his back, after the young wizard encountered Lord Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest — his fellow centaurs considered allowing such a thing tantamount to becoming a "common mule".

In 1995, they attempted to murder Firenze for his decision to "enter into human servitude", which was seen as a great and base betrayal to the group and the species. Centaurs also decided to be placed in the Beast Division instead of the Being Division in the British Ministry of Magic archives, because they wished to not be associated with Hags and Vampires, whom the Ministry designates "Beings".

Favor nature over technology, read the signs in nature.

They were territorial creatures by nature, as Rubeus Hagrid mentioned in 1995 upon seeing a herd of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, whose land was being consistently reduced, and that they might revolt against the Ministry as a result. Later the same year, they proclaimed that even Hagrid was "*no longer welcome*" within "their" forest, as he had "*forfeited the friendship of the centaurs*," and that their "*tolerance was waning*" (in reference to Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp, whom Hagrid was hiding in the forest at the time).

Centaurs did have a sense of honour, being unwilling to harm the young, as the herd within the Forbidden Forest refused to harm Hagrid due to the young Harry Potter and Hermione Granger accompanying him at the time. However, this patience and generosity could wane, as later they saw Harry and Hermione deliberately lead Dolores Umbridge into the forest to "use" the centaurs to eliminate her; this, along with the fact that both teenagers were nearing their adulthood, led the herd to attempt to attack the two.

They believe they are not supposed to interfere in "what is to come". Forest-dwelling. Colonies. Well-versed in divination and astronomy. Burn herbs to refine their stargazing findings. It may take ten years to be sure of what they see in the skies. Impersonal and impartial wisdom.

Bane

Firenze

Magorian

Magnus

Ronan

Torvus

As wild untamed horses. Long faces, covered in hair.

## Etymology[edit]

The Greek word *kentauros* is generally regarded as being of obscure origin. The etymology from *ken* + *tauros*, 'piercing bull', was a euhemerist suggestion in Palaephatus' rationalizing text on Greek mythology, *On Incredible Tales* (Περὶ ἀπίστων), which included mounted archers from a village called *Nephele* eliminating a herd of bulls that were the scourge of Ixion's kingdom. Another possible related etymology can be "bull-slayer".

Teachers, the embodiment of untamed nature.

### Centauromachy[edit]

The Centaurs are best known for their fight with the Lapiths who, according to one origin myth, would have been cousins to the centaurs. The battle, called the Centauromachy, was caused by the centaurs' attempt to carry off Hippodamia and the rest of the Lapith women on the day of Hippodamia's marriage to Pirithous, who was the king of the Lapithae and a son of Ixion. Theseus, a hero and founder of cities, who happened to be present, threw the balance in favour of the Lapiths by assisting Pirithous in the battle. The Centaurs were driven off or destroyed. Another Lapith hero, Caeneus, who was invulnerable to weapons, was beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks and the branches of trees. In her article "The Centaur: Its History and Meaning in Human Culture," Elizabeth Lawrence claims that the contests between the centaurs and the Lapiths typify the struggle between civilization and barbarism.

* Abas, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Agrius, repelled by Heracles in a fight.
* Amphion, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
* Amycus, son of Ophion. He attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths. Amycus was killed by Pelates.
* Anchius, repelled by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Antimachus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
* Aphareus, killed by Theseus in the fight at Pirithous' wedding.
* Aphidas, killed by Phorbas in the fight at Pirithous' wedding.
* Arctus, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
* Areos, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
* Argius, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Asbolus, an augur who had attempted in vain to dissuade his friends from engaging in battle against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding.
* Bienor, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Theseus.
* Bromus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
* Chiron
* Chromis, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Pirithous.
* Chthonius, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Nestor.
* Clanis, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
* Crenaeus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Dryas.
* Cyllarus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths. Killed by a javelin thrown from an unknown hand. He was married to Hylonome.
* Daphnis, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
* Demoleon, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
* Dictys, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Pirithous.
* Dorylas, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
* Doupon, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine and was killed by Heracles.
* Dryalus, son of Peuceus who attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
* Echeclus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Ampyx.
* Elatus, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine. Heracles shot an arrow at him, which, passing through his arm, stuck in the knee of Chiron.
* Elymus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Caeneus.
* Eurynomus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding. Killed by Dryas. Painting by Sebastiano Ricci, of centaurs at the marriage of Pirithous, king of the Lapithae
* Eurytion, acted in an insulting manner towards Hippolyte when she was being joined in marriage to Azan or in the house of Pirithous. He was killed by Heracles.
* Eurytus, the wildest of the wild Centaurs. He started the fight at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Theseus.
* Gryneus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Exadius.
* Helops, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. While fleeing from Pirithous fell from a precipice into the top of a tree and impaled his body.
* Hippasus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding. Killed by Theseus.
* Hippotion, another Centaur, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Hodites, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding. Killed by Mopsus.
* Homadus, tried to plunder Pholus of his wine. Some time after he attempted to rape Alcyone, a granddaughter of Perseus. He got killed in Arcadia.
* Hylaeus, tried to rape Atalanta but was shot by her (same thing happened to Rhoecus).
* Hylaeus, killed by Heracles under unknown circumstances.
* Hylaeus, followed Dionysus in his Indian campaign and was killed by Orontes, an Indian General.
* Hyles, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the battle against the Lapiths and was killed by Peleus.
* Hylonome, attended Pirithous' wedding together with her lover Cyllarus. Having seen the latter dead, she threw herself upon the spear which had killed him.
* Imbreus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Dryas.
* Iphinous, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Peleus.
* Isoples, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Latreus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
* Lycabas, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Lycidas, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Dryas.
* Lycopes, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Theseus.
* Lycus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding was killed by Pirithous.
* Medon, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Melanchaetes, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Melaneus, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Mermerus, wounded by the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and fled.
* Mimas, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
* Monychus, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. He was conquered by Nestor, mounted on his unwilling back.
* Nedymnus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding. Killed by Theseus.
* Nessus, a black Centaur. Fled during the fight with the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding. Later he attempted to rape Deianira and before dying gave her a charm which resulted in the death of Heracles. He was killed by the latter.
* Ophion, father of Amycus.
* Orius or Oreius, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Orneus, attended Pirithous' wedding fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Perimedes, son of Peuceus and attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.
* Petraeus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Pirithous.
* Peuceus, father of Perimedes and Dryalus.
* Phaecomes, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Nestor.
* Phlegraeus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Peleus.
* Pholus Chiron teaching Achilles how to play the lyre, a Roman fresco from Herculaneum, 1st century AD.
* Phrixus, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Pisenor, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Pylenor, having been wounded by Heracles washed himself in the river Anigrus, thus providing the river with a peculiar odor.
* Pyracmus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
* Pyraethus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Periphas.
* Rhoecus, He also tried to rape Atalanta and was killed by her.
* Rhoetus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Dryas.
* Ripheus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Theseus.
* Styphelus, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Caeneus.
* Teleboas, fought against the Lapiths at Pirithous' wedding and was killed by Nestor.
* Thaumas, attended Pirithous' wedding, fought against the Lapiths and fled.
* Thereus, this Centaur used to catch bears and carry them home alive and struggling. Attended Pirithous' wedding and fought in the battle against the Lapiths. Killed by Theseus.
* Thereus, killed by Heracles when he tried to steal the wine of Pholus.
* Ureus, attended Pirithous' wedding and fought against the Lapiths.

The extensive Mycenaean pottery found at Ugarit included two fragmentary Mycenaean terracotta figures which have been tentatively identified as centaurs. This finding suggests a Bronze Age origin for these creatures of myth. A painted terracotta centaur was found in the "Hero's tomb" at Lefkandi, and by the Geometric period, centaurs figure among the first representational figures painted on Greek pottery. An often-published Geometric period bronze of a warrior face-to-face with a centaur is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In Greek art of the Archaic period, centaurs are depicted in three different forms. Some centaurs are depicted with a human torso attached to the body of a horse at the withers, where the horse's neck would be; this form, designated "Class A" by Professor Paul Baur, later became standard. "Class B" centaurs are depicted with a human body and legs joined at the waist to the hindquarters of a horse; in some cases centaurs of both Class A and Class B appear together. A third type, designated "Class C", depicts centaurs with human forelegs terminating in hooves. Baur describes this as an apparent development of Aeolic art, which never became particularly widespread. At a later period, paintings on some *amphorae* depict winged centaurs.

Centaurs preserved a Dionysian connection in the 12th-century Romanesque carved capitals of Mozac Abbey in the Auvergne. Other similar capitals depict harvesters, boys riding goats (a further Dionysiac theme), and griffins guarding the chalice that held the wine. Centaurs are also shown on a number of Pictish carved stones from north-east Scotland erected in the 8th–9th centuries AD (e.g., at Meigle, Perthshire). Though outside the limits of the Roman Empire, these depictions appear to be derived from Classical prototypes.

### Classical literature[edit]

Centaur carrying off a nymph (1892) by Laurent Marqueste (Tuileries Garden, Paris) Jerome's version of the *Life* of St Anthony the Great, written by Athanasius of Alexandria about the hermit monk of Egypt, was widely disseminated in the Middle Ages; it relates Anthony's encounter with a centaur who challenged the saint, but was forced to admit that the old gods had been overthrown. The episode was often depicted in *The Meeting of St Anthony Abbot and St Paul the Hermit* by the painter Stefano di Giovanni, who was known as "Sassetta". Of the two episodic depictions of the hermit Anthony's travel to greet the hermit Paul, one is his encounter with the demonic figure of a centaur along the pathway in a wood.

Lucretius, in his first-century BC philosophical poem *On the Nature of Things,* denied the existence of centaurs based on their differing rate of growth. He states that at the age of three years, horses are in the prime of their life while humans at the same age are still little more than babies, making hybrid animals impossible.

Wisest and noblest, fierce and valiant. Live in herds, prefer to avoid contact with humans, have some wild and barbarous tendencies.

Philip Jose Farmer's *World of Tiers* series (1965) includes centaurs, called Half-Horses or Hoi Kentauroi. His creations address several of the metabolic problems of such creatures—how could the human mouth and nose intake sufficient air to sustain both itself and the horse body and, similarly, how could the human ingest sufficient food to sustain both parts.

Proud, elitist, consider themselves superior to others.