Centaur... big horse men

well... nice and symple:
half man half horse

but i want to know more...
i'm thinking about a character for an rp
though i dont know much...
some sorces say very intelegent, some say very loyal, some even say visous...

so anyone got any extra facts?
x

WIKIPEDIA

In Greek mythology, the centaurs (from Ancient Greek: Κένταυροι - Kéntauroi) are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted with the torso of a human joined at the waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be.
This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings,
caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, both as
the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.
The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera). Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. This Centaurus was either the son of Ixion and Nephele (instead of the Centaurs) or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus.
In the latter version of the story his twin brother was Lapithus,
ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins.
Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly Mount Pholoe in Arcadia and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia.

THEORIES OF ORIGIN

The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a non-riding culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world, to nomads who were mounted on horses. The theory suggests that such riders would appear as half-man, half-animal (Bernal Díaz del Castillo reported that the Aztecs had this misapprehension about Spanish cavalrymen).^[6] Horse taming and horseback culture arose first in the southern steppe grasslands of Central Asia, perhaps approximately in modern Kazakhstan.
The Lapith tribe of Thessaly, who were the kinsmen of the Centaurs
in myth, were described as the inventors of horse-back riding by Greek
writers. The Thessalian tribes also claimed their horse breeds were
descended from the centaurs.
Of the various Classical Greek authors who mentioned centaurs, Pindar was the first who describes undoubtedly a combined monster.^[7] Previous authors (Homer) only uses words such as pheres (cf. theres, "beasts")^[8]
that could also mean ordinary savage men riding ordinary horses.
However, contemporaneous representations of hybrid centaurs can be
found in archaic Greek art.
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 three years old horses are in the prime of
their life while at three humans are still little more than babies,
making hybrid animals impossible.^[9]
Robert Graves (relying on the work of Georges Dumezil, who in Le Probleme des Centaures and in Mitra-Varuna argued for tracing the centaurs back to the Indian gandharva), speculated that the centaurs were a dimly-remembered, pre-Hellenic fraternal earth cult who had the horse as a totem.^[10] A similar theory was incorporated into Mary Renault's The Bull from the Sea.
The Greek word kentauros is generally regarded as of obscure origin.^[11] The etymology from ken - tauros, "piercing bull-stickers" was a Euhemerist suggestion in Palaephatus' rationalizing text on Greek mythology, On Incredible Tales (Περὶ ἀπίστων): mounted archers from a village called Nephele eliminating a herd of bulls that were the scourge of Ixion's kingdom.^[12] Another possible related etymology can be "bull-slayer".^[13] Some^[who?] say that the Greeks took the constellation of Centaurus, and also its name "piercing bull", from Mesopotamia, where it symbolized the god Baal who represents rain and fertility, fighting with and piercing with his horns the demon Mot who represents the summer drought. In Greece, the constellation of Centaurus was noted by Eudoxus of Cnidus in the fourth century BC and by Aratus in the third century.


FEMALE CENTAURS

Though female centaurs, called Kentaurides, are not mentioned in early Greek literature and art, they do appear occasionally in later antiquity. A Macedonian mosaic of the C4th BC^[14] is one of the earliest examples of the Centauress in art. Ovid^[15] also mentions a centauress named Hylonome who committed suicide when her husband Cyllarus was killed in the war with the Lapiths.<blockquote>
"How beautiful the Centaurides are, even where they are horses; for
some grow out of white mares, others are attached to chestnut mares,
and the coats of others are dappled, but they glisten like those of
horses that are well cared for. There is also a white female Centaur
that grows out of a black mare, and the very opposition of the colours
helps to produce the united beauty of the whole."^[16]
</blockquote>
The idea, or possibility, of female centaurs was certainly known in early modern times, as evidenced by Shakespeare's King Lear, Act IV, Scene vi, ln.124-125: "Down from the waist they're centaurs, / Though women all above"
In the Disney animated film Fantasia, during the Pastoral Symphony, some of the main characters are female centaurs. However, the Disney studio called them "Centaurettes" instead of Kentaurides.

Persistence in the medieval world



Prince Bova fights Polkan in an 1860 Russian lubok
Centaurs preserved a Dionysian connection in the 12th century Romanesque carved capitals of Mozac Abbey in the Auvergne, where other capitals depict harvesters, boys riding goats (a further Dionysiac theme) and griffins guarding the chalice that held the wine.
Centaurs are shown on a number of Pictish carved stones from north-east Scotland, erected in the 8th-9th centuries AD (eg at Meigle, Perthshire). Though outside the limits of the Roman Empire, these depictions appear to be be derived from Classical prototypes
A centaur-like half-human half-equine creature called Polkan (Russian: Полкан) appeared in Slavic mythology, folk art, and lubok prints of the 17th-19th centuries.

MODERN DAY

The John C. Hodges library at The University of Tennessee hosts a permanent exhibit of a "Centaur from Volos", in its library. The exhibit, made by combining a study human skeleton with the skeleton of a Shetland pony
is entitled "Do you believe in Centaurs?" and was meant to mislead
students in order to make them more critically aware, according to the
exhibitors.^[17]
A centaur is one of the symbols associated with both the Iota Phi Theta and the Delta Lambda Phi fraternities.
Whereas centaurs in Greek mythology were generally symbolic of chaos
and unbridled passions, Delta Lambda Phi's centaur is modeled after
Chiron and represents honor, moderation and tempered masculinity.
Similarly, C.S. Lewis' centaurs from his popular Chronicles of
Narnia series are depicted as wisest and noblest of creatures. They are
gifted at stargazing, prophecy, healing, and warfare, a fierce and
valiant race always faithful to the High King Aslan. Lewis generally
used the species to inspire awe in his readers.
In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
series, centaurs live in the Forbidden forest close to Hogwarts. They
live in societies called herds and are skilled at archery, healing and
astrology. Although film depictions include very animalistic facial
features, the reaction of the Hogwarts girls to Firenze suggests a more
classical appearance. Rowling's depiction is not surprising, as she has
largely credited C.S. Lewis with her inspiration.
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If you would like more information i would be happy to give it to you! I love doing research so it's no big deal and if you wanna see it for yourself as well i can give you links!

Hope this progresses into a fantastic RP!