This text is a mish-mash of various sources; if necessary, I should be able to dig up the references. Two of the better on-line references are http://www.jps.net/xephyr/rich/fantasy/Pegopedia.html and http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ Chiron, Cheiron, Kiron, Philyrides "The Beast Divine, King of the Centaurs" [The Origins of Chiron] Cronus, King of the Titans, sometimes called Saturn, was the son of Uranus and Gaia. Philyra, an Oceanid (sea nymph), was the daughter of Oceanus (the river that encircles the world) and the Titan Tethys, whose parents were also Uranus and Gaia. (Uranus was Gaia's son, and Gaia sprang from Chaos.) The beginning of the story happened a very long time ago, when the earth was still ruled by the Titans. The Titan king of the Universe, Cronos was prowling around the Northern Greece, looking for his own child Zeus to devour him, lest Zeus grow up as prophesied to overthrow the Titan kingdom. In the region of Thessaly, Chronos came upon the sea nymph Philyra. In the Titan code of ethics and values, fertility was more important than fidelity, so, although Chronos was married to Rhea, he lusted after Philyra. The sea-nymph sought to escape his advances and turned herself into a mare, galloping down the Thessalonian beaches. He turned himself into a stallion and pursued her, mounting her, mating with her, and then presumably going on about his business. The females of classical times seemed to be in a state of perpetual ovulation for they never failed to become pregnant, and so, in time, Philyra bore the son of Cronos. Rhea's discovery of the affair forced her into hiding, where she bore Chiron. It is reported that the union of Chronos and Philyra produced a more human offspring called Dolops, but virtually nothing is known of him. At that critical moment of mother/child bonding when the sea-nymph and her babe first laid eyes upon each other, Philyra was appalled. Her birth-defective child had retained many of the equine features of his conception moment, only his upper half being human-like. She prayed that the Olympians would allow her to get rid of this child, saying she would rather be anything but the mother of such a monster. She took the infant to the top of the nearest high mountain, Mount Pelion, and abandoned him. Zeus took her at her word and turned her into a lime (or linden) tree. Being immortal, the infant Chiron didn't die, but grew up alone. Some versions of the story say that Apollo, or Apollo and Artemis, came to teach Chiron. Whatever the case, Chiron studied and learned much, and became a master musician ("even the stones (stars?) stopped to listen when he played"). Through some unclear circumstances, Chiron was educated by Apollo and Artemis. From Apollo he learned ethics, philosophy, math, music, reason, logic and medicine (all that is redeeming about civilization). From Artemis, the Wild Woman of myth, he learned the way of the forest, hunting, and the use of herbs (all that is important about the wilderness). Cheiron was raised by the twins Apollo (Phoebus) & Artemis (Diana) who taught him medicine, hunting, music, astronomy and many other arts. As an infant, Athena placed her hand on Cheiron's forehead and imbued him with extraordinary intelligence. [The Better Centaurs: Magnetes] Magnetes, the Great Centaurs. Traditionally there is no physical difference between species of centaurs, however ancient writers did distinguish centaurs based on heredity and temperament. Typical centaurs were known for their licentious and libatious proclivities, but certain among the centaurs were inherently gentle, wise and just. These later centaurs were called Magnetes or the "Great Ones." Named for the region of their birth (Magnesia in Thessaly), and the Magnesian Mares which birthed the first centaurs. Their actual ancestry is a matter of debate. Though still loving their drink, music, dancing and lust, the Magnetes included Cheiron, Pholus and others who also maintained a trait of self control. Magnetes were known as wizards and great healers, skilled in the knowledge of herbs. The Pegae (horse-priestesses) practiced their cult in connection to the Magnetes as well. A sacred grove in Chios called Tripotamara ("three streams") is said to still be haunted by the ghosts of these centaur-wizards. [Family Ties] Chiron married the nymph Chariclo, the daughter of Cychreus and Stlibe. Cychreus was the son of Poseidon and the Rivergod Asopus' daughter, Salamis. Stlibe was a river nymph, the daughter of the Rivergod Peneius and the nymph Creusa. One of Chiron's daughters was Endeis. She married AEacus. She was the mother of Telemon and Peleus; he married Thetis, and their son was the famous Achilles. Another of Chiron's daughters was Hippa, sometimes called Euippe. She was ravished by AEolus II, and had a daugher, Melanippe. Hippa married King Peirus, and they had nine daughters, Colymbas, Dracontis, Acalanthis, Cenchris, Chloris, Nessa, Cissa, Inyx, and Pippo. She was later transformed into a horse. Another of Chiron's daughters was Ocyrrhoe. According to Ovid, she was the one transformed into a horse. Chiron and Chariclo were also said to have had a lesser known son named Carystus, who had founded the city of the same name and fathered Zarex. Pterippi the Winged Horses. Also called Pterigottipuses. A term for the species of winged horses derived from the Greek words pteros meaning "having wings" or "winged" and hippos meaning horse. In the pronunciation of Pterippus the "p" is silent. In other words, Pegasus is the name of a Pterippus, not its species. This naming convention is similar to that for the naming of the Pterodactyl, which means "wing finger," or the Hippopotamus, which literally means "river horse" or Unicorn, which means "one horn." Pegasus and Euippe are said to have sired the race of pterippi. Celeris the Swift Foal, brother (or son, perhaps by Euippe) to Pegasus and gift by Mercury (Hermes) to Castor the Horseman (of Gemini fame, Pollux's mortal twin brother). Like Pegasus, Celeris was honored by being placed in the heavens under the name of Equuleus, the Colt. Celeris means "swift." Euippe the Flying Horse. Her name means "good mare." Euippe was another name for the horse-goddess Hippa (Epona), daughter of Cheiron and Chariclo. According to one version of her myth, Euippe, like her mother, who was a nymph, was born with the ability to prophesy, except her ability was far greater than those of normal nymphs (perhaps because of her father's great intelligence). As a young maiden she spent most of her time with Artemis (Diana) learning the arts of hunting and chase. She had also made a vow of chastity. Her ability to prophesy caused her to predict that one day Cheiron would give up his immortality. This angered her father, Cheiron, and the gods (particularly Zeus/Jupiter). As punishment AEolus II (Hippotades), the god of the wind, raped her and she became pregnant with Melanippe. Despite the fact that it wasn't her fault, her loss of virginity angered her patron goddess, Artemis. Seeking refuge from her woes she fled to the sea to find her grandmother, the Oceanid Philyra. Poseidon (Neptune) the Sea-god welcomed her. In another version, she eventually returned to her home in Helicon where she was wooed by King Pierus whom she married and bore to him nine daughters: Colymbas, Dracontis, Acalanthis, Cenchris, Chloris, Nessa, Cissa, Inyx, and Pippo. These maidens were said to have singing voices that rivaled the nine Muses. People began worshipping them, and even King Pierus promoted them as the actual Muses. This angered the Muses who challenged the Pierides (as the nine maidens were called) to a singing contest. During the contention between the Muses and the Pierides, filled with the airy enchantment, Mt. Helicon rose higher and higher heavenward with glorious delight. In excitement Pegasus gave the foot of the mountain a kick which stopped its ascent, and brought out of the mountain the soul-inspiring waters of the Hippocrene. The Muses were judged as more inspired and as punishment the Pierides were transformed into the birds for whom they were named. Melanippe, Euippe's daughter, was also raped by her uncle Poseidon. Euippe, in time was so plagued by her prophesies and woes that, by decree of Zeus, she was transformed into a winged horse. Because she was generally a good being, she was placed in the heavens as the constellation Pegasus. It is surmised that this union of Euippe and Pegasus resulted in the birth of Celeris. Some attribute the portion concerning the transformation into winged horse to Euippe's sister, Ocyrrhoe, and tell that Euippe, under the name Hippe was worshipped as the goddess and protectress of horses. Hippa the Goddess of Horses. Often identified with Epona, the Roman deity. Also called Euippe, Hippe, Hippo or Hippona, her name means simply 'horse' or, as in the case of Euippe, 'good mare.' Worshipped as the goddess and protectress of horses. Daughter of the wise centaur Cheiron and the nymph Chariclo, she married the King (or god) of the winds, AEolus II (Hippotades), the son of Poseidon and Arne (the daughter of Hippotas). Shortly after his birth, Dionysos (Bacchus) was given to Hippa as his wet-nurse. Having faithfully cared for him she then turned him over to her father, Cheiron and the Sylvan-god Silenus for further tutoring. Hippa, was seduced and raped by AEolus, ruler of the bronze-bulwarked floating isle of AEolia. One legend says that by AEolus Hippa became the mother of the four winds, Zephyros (Favonius) the West wind, Eurus (Volturnus) the East wind, Boreas (Aquilo) the North wind, Notus (Auster) the South wind, and two daughters, Pneume (Aura), the morning breeze, and Melanippe (Arne) -some accounts say that Melanippe was their only child, and that the winds, along with the star-children Hesperos (Vesper) and Phosphoros (Lucifer) are the offspring of Eos (Aurora) the Rosey Dawn and Astraeos (Fuscus) the Starry Dusk (others list Eos & Astraeos as the parents of AEolus instead). Hippa or Hippia was also an epithet of Athena (Minerva) as the protectress of Horses. Melanippe the Black Mare. Also called Arne, she was the daughter of the gods AEolus (II) and Hippa (a.k.a. Euippe) who like her mother, could prophesy. Abandoned by her mother to the care of her uncle Poseidon, Melanippe was ravished by him, to whom she bore twin sons, Boeotus and AEolus III. Desmontes, her guardian, was jealous and so enraged by her pregnancy, that he blinded Melanippe and imprisoned her within a stone wall as a living tomb, then left her two children on a hillside to die from exposure and wild beasts. The twins were found by a shepherd who brought them to Theano (Siris) the queen of Icaria. Unable to have her own children she presented the twins to her husband King Metapontus as her own. Not long afterward she actually bore her husband two sons of her own. All four boys were raised together, but Metapontus favored the elder two. In spite Theano, who as also the daughter of King Morges, successor to Italus ruler and founder of Italy, informed her own sons of the twin's founding and pleaded for them to be slain. When the two pairs of brothers fought, however, Poseidon appeared to them and rescued his twins and slew the others, and told the young men to rescue their real mother. Theano, in grief, committed suicide. Upon discovering their true parentage they returned to free their mother, slew her jailer and her sight was restored by Poseidon. Boeotus and AEolus III founded the cities of Boeotia and AEolia. While still young, Melanippe used her abilities without discretion by prophesying to the young Asklepios (AEsculapius) concerning secrets of the gods*, they became angered causing her father, AEolus, to ravish her, after which Melanippe was transformed into a true mare or winged horse (like her mother) and renamed Ocyrrhoe. Another version tells that Melanippe was brought, by her sons, to King Metapontus, where they explained Theano's treachery. Metapontus adopted the twins and married Melanippe. Another version of the Ocyrrhoe tale explains that Ocyrrhoe is actually a third daughter of Cheiron and Chariclo. There is some confusion between the stories of mother and daughter. Ocyrrhoe the child Mare. A flying colt, said to be a daughter of the good centaur Cheiron and the nymph Chariclo. Many conflicting myths surround the story of Ocyrrhoe, Melanippe, Arne, Hippa and Euippe. [Teaching Heroes] He became known to the Olympian community as a wise and honorable being. Chiron is said to have tutored several of the greatest of Greek heroes, including Hercules, Jason (of Argonaut and Golden Fleece fame), Actaeon, Asclepius, Achilles, and Aenas. Some other pupils include Crotus, Hylas, the twins Castor & Pollux (and their twin sisters, Clytemnaestra & Helen), Aristaeus, Orpheus, Atalanta, Linus, and Pholus the Centaur. Chiron was famous for his wisdom and knowledge of music, medicine and ethics. The idea of surgery came about, according to the story, when Chiron replaced a damaged bone in Achilles' ankle with a section from the ankle of a giant. Chiron's teachings focussed on integrating the physical, spiritual/ moral, and intellectual natures, because only by developing and integrating all three could heroes realize their true nature. Chiron taught a diversity of subjects, including astronomy, and he is credited by mythology with the invention of the constellations. Chiron's skills in medicine, which he transmitted to the famed healer Asclepius, are reflected in the names of the medieval medicinal plant /Centaurea/, the centaury, and an earlier plant, the /Chironeion/. Mythology tells us that the mild-mannered Chiron, beloved by Diana (Artemis) and Apollo, invented the constellations and placed Sagittarius in the sky to guide the Argonauts in their expedition to Colchis. This "most just of the centaurs", Chiron, became the mentor and trainer of heroes. Zeus may have been sent to live with Chiron until he was ready to make his bid at overthrowing Chronos. Zeus was not the last child to be hidden in the cave; Jason (the Argonaut) was sent there by his mother until he could come back and regain his rightful throne. Achilles was brought to Cheiron by his father after his mother abandoned them. Other young men were sent to Chiron by mortals and gods alike to gain the skills and cunning to be heroes. These young heroes might arrive as premature infants, babes in arms, children or teenagers. Chiron and his wife provided them with a nurturing home environment. The Heroes had individualized instruction according to their needs. It probably wasn't an outward-bound group camping experience, but rather a one-on-one intensive program - think of Yoda and Luke Skywalker. From Chiron the young men may have learned the practical skills of hunting, wilderness survival, herbology, and celestial navigation. They undoubtedly had studies in math and music. He may have encouraged them to develop any innate skills at the mantic arts (especially astrology), or to at least value those abilities in others. He undoubtedly gave each of his students a through grounding in ethics and leadership. Cheiron may have used astrology to determine the potentials of each of these young men, for they often exceeded his level of expertise and became the best and brightest in their field of interest. Asclepias surpassed mere healing, and learned to cure death. Orpheus became such a virtuoso that his music allowed him to enchant the guardians of the underworld, and bring his wife back from the dead. This career as teacher and mentor seems to have lasted thousands of years. As a young colt, Pholus was brought to the good centaur, Cheiron to learn the civil arts. Under Cheiron he grew in grace and wisdom. [Those Darn Lapiths] The pivital event in the history of the Centaurs was their war with the Lapiths. King Peirithous of the Lapiths inherited part of Thessaly from his father Ixion. The Centaurs as grandsons of Ixion claimed they were entitled to part of the land. After a first round of fighting, a peace was arranged. Peirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding. Here the Centaurs became drunk, then violent. Under the lead of Eurytion they attempted to carry off the Lapith women. In the resulting battle the Centaurs were defeated and driven from the area. Driven by the Lapiths from Mt. Pelion, Chrion dwelled at Malea. [A Deer Friend: Actaeon] Autonoe and Aristaeus had a son Actaeon, who was bred by Chiron to be a hunter. One day on Cithaeron, he saw Artemis bathing. The goddess at once transformed him into a deer, and drove mad the fifty dogs in his pack, which devoured him unwittingly. Actaeon being gone, the dogs sought their master howling lamentably, and in the search they came to the cave of Chiron, who fashioned an image of Actaeon, which soothed their grief. [The Ultimate Doctor: Asclepius] In Ovid's /Metamorphoses/, Chiron's daugher Ocyroe made some prophecies about Asclepius, which upset Zeus, who turned her into a horse. 905 Chiron, the Centaur, taught his pupil; proud that he was honoured by that God-like charge. Behold, his lovely daughter, who was born beside the margin of a rapid stream, came forward, with her yellow hair as gold 910 adown her shoulders.--She was known by name Ocyroe. The hidden things that Fate conceals, she had the power to tell; for not content was she to learn her father's arts, but rather pondered on mysterious things. 915 So, when the god of Frenzy warmed her breast, gazing on Aesculapius,--the child of Phoebus and Coronis, while her soul was gifted, with prophetic voice she said; "O thou who wilt bestow on all the world 920 the blessed boon of health, increase in strength! To thee shall mortals often owe their lives: to thee is given the power to raise the dead. But when against the power of Deities thou shalt presume to dare thy mortal skill, 925 the bolts of Jove will shatter thy great might, and health no more be thine from thence to grant. And from a god thou shalt return to dust, and once again from dust become a God; and thou shalt thus renew thy destiny.-- 930 "And thou, dear father Chiron, brought to birth with pledge of an immortal life, informed with ever-during strength, when biting flames of torment from the baneful serpent's blood are coursing in thy veins, thou shalt implore 935 a welcome death; and thy immortal life the Gods shall suffer to the power of death.-- and the three Destinies shall cut thy thread." She would continue these prophetic words but tears unbidden trickled down her face; 940 and, as it seemed her sighs would break her heart, she thus bewailed; "The Fates constrain my speech and I can say no more; my power has gone. Alas, my art, although of little force and doubtful worth, has brought upon my head 945 the wrath of Heaven. "Oh wherefore did I know to cast the future? Now my human form puts on another shape, and the long grass affords me needed nourishment. I want 950 to range the boundless plains and have become, in image of my father's kind, a mare: but gaining this, why lose my human shape? My father's form is one of twain combined." And as she wailed the words became confused 955 and scarcely understood; and soon her speech was only as the whinny of a mare. Down to the meadow's green her arms were stretched; her fingers joined together, and smooth hoofs made of five nails a single piece of horn. 960 Her face and neck were lengthened, and her hair swept downward as a tail; the scattered locks that clung around her neck were made a mane, tossed over to the right. Her voice and shape were altogether changed, and since that day 965 the change has given her a different name. In vain her hero father, Chiron, prayed the glorious God, Apollo, her to aid. He could not thwart the will of mighty Jove; and if the power were his, far from the spot, 970 from thence afar his footsteps trod the fields of Elis and Messenia, far from thence. And they say that Apollo loved Coronis and at once consorted with her, but that she, against her father's judgment, preferred and cohabited with Ischys, brother of Caeneus. Apollo cursed the raven that brought the tidings and made him black instead of white, as he had been before; but he killed Coronis. As she was burning, Apollo snatched the babe from the pyre and brought it to Chiron, the centaur, by whom he was brought up and taught the arts of healing and hunting. And having become a surgeon, and carried the art to a great pitch, he not only prevented some from dying, but even raised up the dead; for he had received from Athena the blood that flowed from the veins of the Gorgon, and while he used the blood that flowed from the veins on the left side for the bane of mankind, he used the blood that flowed from the right side for salvation, and by that means he raised the dead. [Yet Another Hero: Peleus] Endeis, the mother of Telamon and Peleus, was a daughter of Chiron. Acastus would not kill the man whom he had purified, but took him to hunt on Pelion. There a contest taking place in regard to the hunt, Peleus cut out and put in his pouch the tongues of the animals that fell to him, while the party of Acastus bagged his game and derided him as if he had taken nothing. But he produced them the tongues, and said that he had taken just as many animals as he had tongues. When he had fallen asleep on Pelion, Acastus deserted him, and hiding his sword in the cows' dung, returned. On arising and looking for his sword, Peleus was caught by the centaurs and would have perished, if he had not been saved by Chiron, who also restored him his sword, which he had sought and found. Chiron had advised Peleus to seize Thetis and hold her fast in spite of her shape-shifting, so he watched his chance and carried her off, and though she turned, now into fire, now into water, and now into a beast, he did not let her go till he saw that she had resumed her former shape. And he married her on Pelion, and there the gods celebrated the marriage with feast and song. The gods celebrated the marriage feast of Peleus (who wedded Thetis, the daughter of Nereus) in Chiron's home, at sacred Pelion's feet, the abode ascribed to the race of Centaurs. And Chiron gave Peleus an ashen spear for the slaying of warriors. Chiron felled the ash-tree for the shaft, while Athena polished it, and Hephaestus wrought the blade. The revel-rout of Centaurs came too, mounted on horses, to the feast of the gods and the mixing-bowl of Bacchus, leaning on fir-trees, with wreaths of green foliage round their heads; and Chiron cried loudly: "Daughter of Nereus, you shall bear a son, a dazzling light to Thessaly;" and the prophet, skilled in arts inspired by Phoebus, gave his name; "for he shall come with an army of Myrmidon spearmen to the famous land of Priam, to set it in a blaze, his body cased in a suit of golden mail forged by Hephaestus, a gift from his goddess-mother, from Thetis who bore him." Then the gods shed a blessing on the marriage of the high-born bride, who was first of Nereus' daughters, and on the wedding of Peleus. [A Real Heel: Achilles] Peleus brought his child by Thetis to Chiron, who received him and fed him on the innards of lions and wild swine and the marrows of bears, and named him Achilles, because he had not put his lips to the breast; but before that time his name was Ligyron. Achilles was instructed in the lyre by the centaur Chiron. Brought up in godly Chiron's halls, Achilles learned to keep a single heart. Achilles went to Troy. He was accompanied by Phoenix, son of Amyntor. This Phoenix had been blinded by his father on the strength of a false accusation of seduction preferred against him by his father's concubine Phthia. But Peleus brought him to Chiron, who restored his sight, and thereupon Peleus made him king of the Dolopians. Pliny describes a painting in which Achilles was represented scraping the rust from the blade of his spear with a sword into the wound of Telephus. The spear was the famous one which Chiron had bestowed on Peleus, the father of Achilles; the shaft was cut from an ash-tree on Mount Pelion, and none of the Greeks at Troy, except Achilles, could wield it. [Precepts of Chiron] The Precepts of Chiron [of Hesiod] was a didactic poem made up of moral and practical precepts, resembling the gnomic sections of [Hesiod's] Works and Days, addressed by the Centaur Chiron to his pupil Achilles. "And now, pray, mark all these things well in a wise heart. First, whenever you come to your house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods." "Decide no suit until you have heard both sides speak." "A chattering crow lives out nine generations of aged men, but a stag's life is four times a crows' and a raven's life makes three stags old, while the phoenix outlives nine ravens, but we, the rich-haired Nymphs, daughters of Zeus the AEgis-holder, outlive ten phoenixes." "...children under the age of seven should not receive a literary education..." [The Death of Chiron] Chiron and Hercules had a very close relationship. Dionysus, in his wanderings, had left a vessel of wine with Pholos for Hercules, saying not to open it until he came. More than 100 years later, Hercules came. As a fourth labour Hercules was ordered to bring back the destructive Erymanthian boar alive. Passing through Pholoe (in the southern Peloponnesus) he was hospitably received and entertained by the centaur Pholus. When Hercules called for wine, Pholus said he feared to open the jar which belonged to all the centaurs in common. But Hercules, bidding him be of good courage, opened it. Not long afterwards, scenting the smell, the centaurs arrived at the cave of Pholus, armed with rocks and firs. The first who dared to enter were repelled by Hercules with a shower of brands, and the rest of them he shot and pursued as far as Malea. Thence they took refuge with Chiron, who, driven by the Lapiths from Mount Pelion, had taken up his abode at Malea. As the centaurs cowered about Chiron, Hercules shot an arrow at them, which, passing through the arm of Elatus, stuck in the knee of Chiron. Distressed at this, Hercules ran up to him, drew out the shaft, and applied a medicine which Chiron gave him. But the hurt proving incurable, Chiron retired to the cave and there he wished to die, but he could not, for he was immortal. However, Prometheus offered himself to Zeus to be immortal in his stead, and so Chiron died. It just so happened that thirty years earlier Zeus had been really ticked-off by Prometheus, a Titan that had at least given humans fire, if not actually created humans. There was probably more to that, as Prometheus was also keeping some pretty big secrets from Zeus - you can imagine how much secrets bug the Ruler of the Universe. Anyway Zeus had him chained to a rock in the Causasus Mts. where everyday an eagle came and ripped out his liver, and every night in the bitter cold of the mountain air, his liver grew back. Poor Prometheus! The only way he could escape would be for some god to give up his immortality for him. Prometheus was already immortal, he didn't need it personally, and there is some discussion that it eventually went to Hercules, who put the deal together, perhaps as a commission. Chiron gave up his immortality, and got to die. Prometheus told Zeus the secrets and got to walk free. Hercules got to be immortal. After 8 days, Zeus made Chiron into a constellation. Zeus (Jupiter), was so moved by Cheiron's selfless act that, after he died he was rescued from Hades, welcomed into Olympus where he became the new Paeon (healer), and teacher to the gods, and was commemorated with the constellation of Sagittarius and/or Centaurus. [The constellation Centaurus] There are a few conflicting sources, some claiming that Chiron became the constellation Sagittarius, some that he became Centaurus. The Centaur is pictured with his back toward us and his head turned to the east; in his right hand he holds a spear aimed toward adjacent Lupus the Wolf. The minor constellation of Circinus, the Compasses, lies at Centaurus' feet.