Centaurs in Greek mythology are creatures with the head and torso of a man and the body of a horse. Centaurs had horse ears, rough and bearded faces. As a rule, they were naked and armed with a club, a stone or a bow. In the earliest depictions, centaurs were endowed with both human and equine genitalia. According to Pindar's Pythian, the centaurs were considered descendants - direct or through their common ancestor the Centaur - the Thessalian king of the Lapith tribe, the titan Ixion, the son of Ares, and the cloud, who, by the will of Zeus, took the form of Hera, on whom Ixion attempted( ) Harpies - disgusting winged maidens from Greek legends
In ancient Greek myths, harpies are depicted as evil winged creatures of a hideous appearance with the head, chest and thighs of a woman and the body of a bird with the wings of vultures, long sharp hooked claws and cheeks eternally pale from hunger. Images of harpies and sirens similar to them (they were considered cousins) were preserved on tombstones and antique vases. Thanks to these images, we can judge what these creatures looked like (at least as the ancient Greeks saw them). Harpies were considered one of the most ferocious and ugliest characters in Greek mythology. They suddenly swooped in and disappeared( ) Sirens - half-maiden, half-bird with a divine voice from Greek mythology
Sirens were represented as winged maidens, maidens with a fish tail, or maidens with a bird's body and clawed bird feet. Apollodorus or Pseudo-Apollodorus in the “Mythological Library” wrote about three sirens: Peisinoe, Aglaoth and Telxiepia. These were maidens of wonderful beauty with a charming voice, which they inherited from their mother Melpomene, Terpsichore or Calliope. One of the sirens played the cithara, another sang, and the third played the flute. With the sounds of their songs, the sirens lulled travelers to sleep, and then tore them apart and devoured them. The sirens inherited their wild and evil temperament from their father Forkis or Achelous( )
Which mythical creature has the body of a horse? and got the best answer
Answer from Yamil Musin[guru]
Centaurs (ancient Greek Κένταυροι, singular Κένταυρος) in Greek mythology are a race of creatures with the head and torso of a man on the body of a horse.
Centaurs (K e n t a u r o i) · wild creatures, half-humans, half-horses, mortal inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets, are distinguished by their violent temperament and intemperance. Their mixanthropism is explained by the fact that they were born from Ixion and the cloud, which, by the will of Zeus, took the form of Hera, on whom Ixion attempted (Pind. Pyth. II 21-48).
Centaurs live on Mount Pelion and fight with their neighbors Lapiths (centauromachy), trying to kidnap wives from this tribe for themselves (Ovid. Met. XII 210-535). A special place among the centaurs is occupied by two - Chiron and Phol, embodying wisdom and benevolence.
After Hercules defeated the centaurs, they were driven out of Thessaly and settled throughout Greece. Poseidon took the centaurs under his protection. In heroic myths, some of the centaurs are educators of heroes (Jason, Achilles), others are hostile to the world of heroes (Eurytion tries to kidnap the bride of Pirithous, Nessus makes an attempt on Deianira and causes the death of Hercules).
The word "centaur" (ancient Greek κένταυρος, kentauros), or the Latinized version - "centaur" (lat. centaurus), is traditionally attributed to a word formation consisting of two Greek roots: kenteo - to stab and tauros - bull, which can be interpreted both as a bull killer or bull hunter, and as a bull driver or even a cowboy.
Famous Centaurs:
Chiron - teacher of Achilles, Jason and other heroes
Nessus - responsible for the death of Hercules
Ankiy - fought with Hercules during his campaign for the Erythmanian boar
Agrius - fought with Hercules during his campaign for the Erymanthian boar
Oreius - fought with Hercules during his campaign for the Erymanthian boar
Hylaeus - fought with Hercules during his campaign for the Erymanthian boar
Foul - accidentally scratched by a poisoned arrow of Hercules during the latter's fifth labor and died
Khomad - tried to dishonor Eurystheus' sister Alcyone. Killed by Hercules
Pylenor - washed the wound from the arrow of Hercules in the river, which is why the river acquired a bad smell
Mole (Krotos) - half-brother of the muses, lived on Helicon, became the constellation Sagittarius
Eurytus (Eurytion) - at the wedding of Hippodamia and Pirithous he tried to kidnap the bride, which started the war between the Lapiths and the centaurs
Reply from Olya Shiralieva[guru]
kintaur
Reply from Stormbringer[guru]
centaur
Reply from Drop[guru]
The centaurs.
Reply from Otter (that one)[guru]
Centaurs [edit] Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia This term has other meanings, see Centaur (meanings). Centaurs (ancient Greek: Κένταυροι, singular Κέ&
Reply from Olga Romanova[guru]
Minotaur
Reply from Kira[master]
Centaurs.
Reply from Ivan Razumov[guru]
Sobchak (the head is also part of the body)
Reply from Evgeniy Melnikov[guru]
the minotaur on two legs had a bull's head and horns
Reply from Dmitry syakov[expert]
centaur
Reply from Kolp[active]
Hipogryph. The back half is from a horse, and the front half is from a bird of prey. In Harry Potter (3 hours or something) they drew him well.
Reply from ALIA 102[guru]
People, come on! Minotaur, Kinotaur. We've seen enough avataurs...
companionaurus
Reply from Sasha Novikov[guru]
Centaur
Reply from *~IRENA~*[guru]
Centaur
Reply from Albina[active]
Centaur
Reply from 2 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Which mythical creature has the body of a horse?
The centaur could also be winged. In all these cases he remained a horse man. During the Middle Ages, Onocentaur (a combination of man and donkey), Bucentaur (buffalo man), and Leontocentaur (lion man) appeared. IN Indian art There is a well-known image of a man with the legs of a buffalo (or horse) and the tail of a fish. To designate creatures that are not similar in appearance to a horse, but retain the features of a centaur, the term “centauroids” is used in the scientific literature. The image of the centaur apparently originated in Babylon in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Kassite nomads who came to Mesopotamia from Iran around 1750 BC. e., waged a fierce struggle with Egypt and Assyria for dominion in the Middle East. Along the borders of their empire, the Kassites erected huge stone statues of guardian gods, among them centaurs. One of them depicted a winged creature with a horse's body, two faces - a human one, looking forward, and a dragon one, looking back, and two tails (a horse and a scorpion); in his hands is a bow with a taut string. Another famous monument is a statue of a classic centaur without wings, with one head and one tail, ready to shoot at the enemy with his bow. Of course, the fact that the Kassites depicted a centaur in their sculptures does not mean at all that they invented it, but since the Kassite empire ceased to exist by the middle of the 12th century BC. e., we can rightfully say that the history of the centaur goes back more than three thousand years.
The appearance of the image of a centaur suggests that already during the Kassites the horse played important role in a person's life. The oldest mention of a horse—the “donkey of the west” or “mountain donkey”—we find on a clay Babylonian tablet dating back to 2100 BC. e. However, centuries passed before the horse became a common human companion in the Middle East. It is very likely that the Kassite nomads contributed to the spread of horses and chariots. It is possible that the ancient farmers perceived horse riders as a whole being, but most likely the Mediterranean inhabitants, who were prone to inventing “composite” creatures, simply reflected the spread of the horse when they invented the centaur.
So, the creature known as a centaur appeared in the Middle East between 1750 and 1250 BC. e. and served as a guardian spirit, whose main weapon was a bow and arrow. The Kassites, who had extensive trade connections, brought the centaur to the Mycenaean civilization, which also disappeared by the middle of the 12th century BC. e. From Crete he came to Ancient Greece. Depiction of the battle between Theseus and a centaur on an amphora from the 8th century BC. e. indicates that by this time the Greeks had already developed a mythology that incorporated Mycenaean heroes.
Centaurs in Greek mythology are creatures with the head and torso of a man and the body of a horse. Centaurs had horse ears, rough and bearded faces. As a rule, they were naked and armed with a club, a stone or a bow. In the earliest depictions, centaurs were endowed with both human and equine genitalia.
According to Pindar's "Pythian" (c. 518-442 or 438 BC), the centaurs were considered descendants - direct or through their common ancestor Centaur - the Thessalian king of the Lapith tribe, titan Ixion, son of Ares, and the cloud, which took the form of Zeus at the behest of Hera, who was attempted by Ixion (according to another interpretation, the descendants of Ixion and the titanide of the clouds Nephele, ancient Greek “cloud”, “cloud”) “And Ixion lit the powerful heart of the goddess Hera with the fire of titanium. That fire did not hide from the world ruler; he decided to punish Ixion. And, according to Kronid’s insidious intent, a cloudy ghost in the form of Hera descended from the sky to Ixion to cool the heat of the fire in the Lapita leader. And it was not a deceiving ghost, but the goddess of the clouds Nephele: Nephele deceived the crafty Zeus. And from Ixion the Titan gave birth to Nephele a wonder: not a man, not a horse, not a tree, not a titan, not a god and not a beast, but both this, and another, and a third: he was a horse, and a man, and a tree - a piece of a beast , god and titan. He was mortal and he was immortal." Y.E. Golosovker “Tales of the Titans”
According to Thessalian legends as presented by Lucan (39-65 AD), Nephele gave birth to centaurs in the Pelephronian cave. According to another myth, they were the children of the Centaur - the son of Apollo and the oceanid (daughter of Ocean and Tethys) or the daughter of the river god Peneus and the nymph Creusa, Stilba. According to another legend, the centaurs were the sons of Apollo himself. Diodorus Siculus (approx. 90 - 30 BC) cites in the “Historical Library” the views that existed in his time that the centaurs were raised on the Pelion Peninsula by nymphs and, having matured, entered into relations with the Magnesian mares, from what gave birth to binatural centaurs or hippocentaurs. According to another myth, a descendant of Apollo, the Centaur, entered into a relationship with the Magnesian mares. Isidore of Seville (c. 560 - 636). in “Etymology” he wrote “Hippocentaurs have a mixed nature - human and horse, their heads are covered with hair, like animals, but otherwise they look like ordinary people and can even speak, but since their lips are unusual for human speech, then from the published It is impossible to isolate words with sounds. They are called hippocentaurs, because it is believed that they combined human and horse nature.”
Pliny (c. 23-79 AD) wrote in Natural History that he saw a hippocentaur preserved in honey and sent from Egypt as a gift to the emperor. “Caesar Claudius, brother of Caligula, writes that a hippocentaur was born in Thessaly and died on the same day, and during the reign of this emperor we saw how a similar creature was brought in honey from Egypt.” The Odyssey describes the story of how a centaur Eurytion, invited to Peirytoon's wedding, got drunk on wine and tried to dishonor the bride. As punishment, his ears and nose were cut off and thrown out. The centaur called on his brothers for revenge, and after some time a battle took place in which the centaurs were defeated.
The Greeks, who bred and loved horses, were well acquainted with their temperament. It is no coincidence that it was the nature of the horse that they associated with unpredictable manifestations of violence in this generally positive creature. The Greek centaur is practically human, but his behavior changes dramatically under the influence of wine. Homer writes: “It was wine that was to blame for the outrages that the famous centaur Eurytion committed in the palace of the magnanimous Peiritoon in Lapita. His mind went wild with intoxication. And in his rage he caused a lot of trouble in the house of Peiritoon... Since then, enmity between people and centaurs has continued. And he was the first to feel the evil of drunkenness.” The centaur was a popular subject in vase painting. Its artistic embodiment depended on which centaur was depicted on the vase. The two most "civilized" centaurs - Cheiron and Pholos - were usually depicted with human legs, while the whole rear end their bodies remained that of a horse. Heiron is almost always clothed and may have had human ears. Pholos, on the contrary, most often appears naked and certainly with horse ears.
The centaur with four horse legs was perceived by the Greeks more as an animal than as a person. Despite the human head, his ears are almost always horse ears, and his face is rough and bearded. The centaur was usually depicted naked, with male and equine genitalia at the same time. The image of a centaur, of course, was not common to all of Greece: in its continental part, centaurs were depicted with disheveled hair. long hair, and in Ionia and Etruria - with short ones. These creatures did not necessarily have a bow with them - more often a log or cobblestone. The depiction of the death of Caineus at the Battle of Lapita can be called classic: the centaurs bury the dying hero under a mountain of logs and stones.
The vase by Clytius (560 BC) depicts both types of centaurs: on the one hand, Cheiron, dressed in a chiton and leading a procession of gods in honor of the newlywed couple (Peleus and Thetias), greets the groom in a friendly manner; on the reverse side is a scene from the Battle of Lapita. The painting symbolizes the duality of the nature of the centaurs, contrasting Heiron, who submitted to the order established by people, and other centaurs who threaten this order with their wild disposition.
These two types are not the only ones, but only the most common in Greece. In addition to them, winged centaurs were depicted, indicating that the Kassite tradition had not completely died. Several Cypriot terracotta figures from the 7th century BC. e. can rightfully be called “centauroids”. Unlike the Minotaur with a human body and a buffalo head, these creatures have human heads (sometimes with horns) and buffalo bodies, which is probably associated with the cult of the god of fertility - the bull.
Most often, centaurs were characterized as wild and unrestrained, with unpredictable manifestations of violence, creatures in which animal nature predominated. Centaurs were distinguished by their violence, tendency to drunkenness and hostility towards people. But wise centaurs were also known among them, first of all, the already mentioned Phol and Chiron, friends and teachers of Hercules and others. A popular poetic subject of antiquity, depicted in the Parthenon of Phidias (c. 490 BC - c. 430 BC), glorified in the Metamorphoses of Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD). BC) and inspired Rubens, was the centauromachy - the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs, which flared up due to the unbridled temper of the latter at the wedding feast of the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous. “Homer’s Odyssey also describes the story of how the centaur Eurytion, invited to the wedding of Pirithous, got drunk on wine and tried to dishonor the bride. As punishment, his ears and nose were cut off and thrown out. The centaur called on his brothers for revenge, and after some time a battle took place in which the centaurs were defeated.
If in Greece the centaur was the embodiment of animal qualities incompatible with human nature, unbridled passions and immoderate sexuality, then in Ancient Rome he turned into the peace-loving companion of Dionysus and Eros. The greatest contribution to the formation of the Roman version of the image of the centaur was made by Ovid (43 BC - c. 18 AD) in Metamorphoses.
The death of the centaurs and their role in the death of Hercules
The centaurs lived in the mountains of Thessaly until the day when they were defeated by the Lapiths and Hercules scattered them throughout Hellas. Most of the centaurs, according to Euripides’ tragedy “Hercules” (416 BC), were killed by Hercules. Those who escaped from him listened to the sirens, stopped eating and died of hunger. According to one story, Poseidon hid them in a mountain at Eleusis.
The centaur Nessus, according to Sophocles, played a fatal role in the death of Hercules. He tried to kidnap Hercules' wife Dejanira, but was struck down by an arrow containing the poison of the Lernaean Hydra. Dying, Nessus decided to take revenge on Hercules, advising Deianira to collect his blood, as it would supposedly help her retain the love of Hercules. Dejanira soaked Hercules' clothes with the poisonous blood of Nessus, and he died in terrible agony. Centaurids - female centaurs
Along with male centaurs, centaurids (centaurisses) were sometimes described in Greek legends. Their image is quite rare in myths and paintings, and even then, they are more often characterized as nymphs. The few authors who mention the existence of centaurids described them as physically and spiritually beautiful creatures. The most famous centaurid was Gilonoma, the wife of the centaur Killar (Tsillar). Varieties of centaurs. Centauroids
There are quite a few variations in the appearance of centaurs. Sometimes they were even depicted as winged, with a second dragon head (in Babylon, Crete). The term “centauroids” is used in the literature to refer to creatures that resemble a horse, but retain the features of a centaur. Centauroids were especially popular in the Middle Ages. These included onocentaur (donkey man), bucentaur (bull man), kerast (buffalo man), leontocentaur (lion man), ichthyocentaur (a creature combining in its appearance elements of fish, horses and humans). The most ancient terracotta figurines of centauroids with a human head and a buffalo body from the 7th century. BC found in Cyprus.
A large number of various creatures - chimeras, close to the centauroids described above, were observed by me in the Thai temple of Wat Pho in Bangkok. Polkan and Kitovras
The centaurs also included the Slavic demigods Polkan and Kitovras (the demon Asmodeus among the Jews) and their relatives (probably Polkan and Kitovras were one and the same creature). Polkan was unusually strong and quick. He had the body and build of a man up to the waist, and below the waist he was like a horse. When the ancient Slavs fought, Polkan and his relatives tried to come to their aid and fought so bravely that their glory survived the centuries. Kitovras had the same appearance as Polkan and was famous for his intelligence. Caught by King Solomon, he surprised him with his wisdom
No less a mystery than the image of the centaur itself is his name. Neither Homer nor the other ancient Greek poet Hesiod, when mentioning centaurs, describe their appearance, unless, of course, the characteristic “hairy people-beasts” is considered one. Although images of horses with human heads have been found since the 8th century BC. e., there is no reason to believe that in Homer’s time the idea of “semi-bestial” creatures was so widespread that it did not need comment. The modern English writer Robert Graves, who turned a lot to the era of antiquity in his work, believed that Homer called centaurs representatives of a warlike tribe who worshiped horses. Under the leadership of their king Heiron, the centaurs opposed their enemies, the Lapitas, together with the Achaeans.
The debate about the origin of the word "centaur" has never subsided. According to different versions, it could come from the Latin “centuria” - “hundred” or the Greek “centron” - “goat”, “kenteo” - “hunt, pursue” and “tavros” - “bull”.
The first ancient Greek poet to mention the equine nature of centaurs was Pindar (c. 518-442 or 438 BC). In "Pythian" he talks about the emergence of centaurs. A lapit named Ixion falls in love with Hera, and Zeus, in revenge, sends to him a cloud resembling a goddess in appearance. Ixion copulates with the cloud, and it gives birth to a child: “This mother brought him monstrous offspring. There has never been such a mother, nor such a child, whom neither people nor gods accepted. She raised him and named him Centaur. From his union with the Magnesian mare, an unprecedented tribe arose, the lower part inherited from the mother, and the upper part from the father.” On the other hand, according to Pindar, the origin of Cheiron was completely different. He is “the son of Philir, a descendant of Cronus, who once ruled a huge kingdom and was the son of Heaven.” Heiron married a girl named Hariko, and they had completely human-looking daughters. He, apparently, was the only “home” centaur. It was Cheiron who was the teacher of Achilles and Hercules.
The story of another centaur - Nessos - came to us thanks to the tragedy of Sophocles (5th century BC). Hercules takes his bride Deianeira to his house. The centaur makes money by transporting people across the Even River. Deianeira sits on his back to get to the other side, but in the middle of the Nessos River he grabs her and tries to dishonor her. Hercules saves the bride by piercing the centaur in the chest with a spear. Dying, Nessos advises Deianeira to collect his blood and use it as love potion in case Hercules ever falls in love with another woman. Deianeira dips the edge of her tunic into the centaur's blood. When Hercules puts on his tunic, the poison-soaked fabric sticks to his body and causes such excruciating pain that he throws himself into the fire. If in Greece the centaur was the embodiment of animal qualities incompatible with human nature, unbridled passions and immoderate sexuality, then in Ancient Rome he turned into the peace-loving companion of Dionysus and Eros. The greatest contribution to the formation of the Roman version of the image of the centaur was made, of course, by Ovid (43 BC - c. 18 AD) in the Metamorphoses. The poet adds many details to the story of Peirithoun's marriage and the battle that followed. Not only Tholos and Nessos take part in the battle, but also other centaurs, who are the figment of Ovid’s imagination. Among them, Tsillar and Gilonoma are of greatest interest.
Tsillar is a young, blond centaur, Gilonoma is his beloved, a centaur girl with long hair decorated with roses, violets and white lilies, “whose beauty was not in the forests.” When Tsillar dies in battle, Gilonoma throws herself on the spear that pierced her lover and merges with him in a final embrace. This story of a beautiful centaur, his feminine lover, their faithful love and touching suicide contrasts with the image of the wild and untamed Greek centaur.
The oldest horoscope that has come down to us was compiled around 410 BC. e. in Babylon. There is no doubt that the zodiac Sagittarius (Centaur), as well as Scorpio and Capricorn (Ey’s “antelope of the underground ocean”), are images inspired by Kassite border monuments. Along with the constellation Centaur-Sagittarius, there is also the Southern Centaur. Under the name of the zodiac Capricorn, the centaur also entered the art of the Islamic world.
The consolidation of the centaur as one of the zodiac symbols played a role in the fact that the memory of him was preserved in the Middle Ages. In the bestiaries, the image of the onocentaur, the donkey man, was clearly associated with the devil. The medieval centaur was always depicted dressed in a tunic or cloak and certainly holding a combat bow in his hands. This is how he can be seen on the coat of arms of the English king Stephen I. There are also images of a centaur with human hands, awkwardly standing on the only hind legs of a horse.
In the Bayonne tapestry, which depicts scenes from the Norman conquest of England (11th century AD), in the episode depicting Harold on his way to William the Conqueror, there are five long-haired, clothed centaurs, two of them winged. And in the episode "Harold Saves Two Soldiers" a centauroid with lion paws is depicted. A stone statue of another Leontocentaur can be seen in Westminster Abbey in London.
In Dante's Divine Comedy we meet Cheiron, Nessos and Tholos in the seventh circle of hell, where they throw the souls of “rapists” into a river of boiling blood. Dante manages to list most of the mythological features of centaurs in a short passage. When Cheiron notices Dante and Virgil, he takes an arrow from the quiver hanging at his hips and straightens his beard so that it does not interfere with his conversation. Heiron is not devoid of intelligence: he sees that the foot of “the one behind moves what it touches” and understands that Dante is alive. Nessos remembers his lifetime craft and transports Dante and Virgil across the bloody river Phlegethon. Centaurs of the seventh circle are “guardians and stewards of eternal justice.”
The only thing that Dante missed in the description of the “fleet-footed beasts” was that he did not indicate their equine nature. The educated Italian, no doubt, not only read Ovid, but also saw the bronze Roman centaurs, believing that his readers were no less familiar with them. However, comedy illustrators seem to have had a significant gap in this regard. One of them depicted a centaur with a human head growing straight from the chest of a horse, without arms or torso, of course. Faced with the task of depicting centaur archers, the artist was completely at a loss and painted them simply as naked men.
In Lefebvre's History of Troy, a centaur for some unknown reason becomes an ally of the Trojans. The centaur “with a mane like a horse, eyes red as coals, shot accurately from his bow; This beast struck terror into the Greeks and struck many of them with his arrows.” Apparently, this particular story was known to Shakespeare. In Troilus and Cressida, the hero of the Trojan War, Menelaus, says: “The terrible centaur has struck fear into our warriors.” In Shakespeare's Centaur, the Greek image of this creature is revived - a threat to social order. In the 19th century, the image of the centaur attracted even greater interest in literature and art. Goethe made Cheiron one of the central figures in the description of Walpurgis Night in Faust. Here Heiron again becomes a wise and kind creature. It is he who takes Faust to meet Helen. For Goethe, Heiron is the personification of male beauty - “he is half-human and an impeccable runner.”
The centaur was depicted on their canvases and in the cultures of Botticelli, Pisanello, Michelangelo, Rubens, Beckling, Rodin, Picasso and many others. Many literary works and scientific works are dedicated to him. In the 19th century, the centaur also did not remain forgotten.
CENTAUR: ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, EVOLUTION
The centaur is an unusual, paradoxical creature, an unsolved mystery of nature. Precisely nature - now we can say this with absolute accuracy. For a long time, scientists did not have more or less reliable evidence of the reality of the existence of a centaur. It was mistakenly believed that this was a purely mythological character who does not exist in nature and never has existed.
However, it would be strange if an absolutely fictional creature was so often mentioned in various literary sources, so often depicted by sculptors and painters. After all, it is widely known that the prototype of sea sirens were real animals with the same name, and on the island of Komodo monitor lizards of truly dragon-sized proportions have been preserved.
Recently, supporters of the version of the reality of centaurs received irrefutable evidence that they were right. Archaeological excavations near El-Ayoum (Western Sahara) dispelled all secrets and speculation - more than a dozen centaur skeletons were discovered there, many of which were quite well preserved. Professor of the California Institute of Natural Sciences J.R.R. Epstein, using the method of Professor Gerasimov, restored appearance centaur.
The dimensions of the centaur are by no means gigantic: at the withers - about a meter, from the front hooves to the top of the head - about eighty meters. The brain volume is slightly smaller than that of humans, but larger than that of chimpanzees and gorillas. Of great interest to researchers was the question of how they were located internal organs in two cavities. It turned out that the entire upper anterior (humanoid) part was filled with respiratory organs. Powerful lungs with large bronchi made the centaurs unusually hardy; in addition, obviously, the centaurs were very loud, and therefore hard of hearing. In the lower back part, immediately behind the middle girdle of the limbs, protected by the collarbones and shoulder blades, there was a huge heart. Behind the heart is a voluminous stomach and long intestines, which indicates that the centaurs ate mainly grass. On the sides, near the ribs, centaurs had air bubbles similar to those found in birds. During inhalation, they were filled with air, so that later, during exhalation, they could fill the lungs with this air. Thus, centaurs were the only mammals with double breathing.
Classifying a centaur proved extremely difficult. Most likely, this is a special class of six-legged vertebrates such as chordates of the dead-end branch. The prehistoric ancestors of the centaurs apparently lived in forests, walked on all six limbs and were much slower. The protocentaurs (Protocentaurus vulgaris) looked different: the limbs were short and clumsy, the front part did not at all resemble a human. They lived in dens and were omnivores. However, with climate change, the protocentaurs became steppe animals, which required more high speed movement. At the same time, the front part of the body lifted off the ground and became lighter, while the rear, on the contrary, became more massive, the middle and hind limbs noticeably elongated. Further, in the process of evolution, the back of the body more and more resembled that of a horse, since the living conditions and lifestyle of the centaurs were absolutely the same as those of wild horses. The front part, having lightened and become vertical, was freed up for useful work; the forelimbs gradually began to resemble human hands. Thus, we can say with complete confidence that labor made a real centaur (Centaurus centaurus) from a protocentaur.
It remains a mystery whether the centaurs were intelligent. Mythology says “Yes” (see the myths about Jason, about Lapith, etc.), but science does not have reliable data on this matter. Unfortunately, this riddle is unsolvable, since all the centaurs have already died out. It can be assumed that people are to blame for this. Many literary sources - for example, the myth of Lapith - talk about the enmity of people and centaurs. Obviously, bulky and clumsy, the centaurs could not stand the competition with agile and mobile people. Presumably, already in the first millennium BC, centaurs were completely ousted from the territory Ancient Greece and from Europe in general. Driven into the sands of the Sahara, dwindling groups of centaurs could survive until the first centuries of our era. The last mention of a meeting with centaurs can be found in Capaglia's treatise "My Travels to Distant Shores."
Images of gods with zoomorphic and anthropogenic features - animal heads and human bodies - are found among different peoples.
A joint Australian-American expedition that studied rock paintings of primitive people in Australia and South Africa More than five thousand Stone Age images were discovered, among which there are sketches of half-humans, half-animals - with the body of a lion and the head of a man or with the head of a bull and a human torso. The drawings of unknown creatures discovered by the expedition were made at least 32 thousand years ago. Cambridge anthropologist Christopher Chippendale and Sydney historian Paul Tacon, who studied ancient petroglyphs, came to the conclusion that primitive artists painted mysterious creatures “from life,” that is, they depicted what they saw with their own eyes. It is noteworthy that prehistoric Australians and Africans, who lived on different continents, decorated their caves with drawings of the same creatures.
In Australia, scientists have found images of centaurs, although it is reliably known that horses were not found on this remote continent. How the Australian aborigines managed to depict a horse with a human torso is unknown. It remains to be assumed that in time immemorial, hybrids of humans and animals really existed on our planet.
Probably all these mysterious creatures are the result of genetic experiments by aliens. Moreover, the hybrids created in vitro were intelligent. For example, the god Thoth was considered a scientist by the Egyptians:
The son of the god Cronus and Philyra, the centaur Chiron, trained by Apollo and Artemis in hunting, healing, music and divination, was the teacher of the heroes of Greek myths - Achilles, Asclepius, Castor, Polydeuces, Jason.
Centaurs in Greek mythology are creatures with the body of a horse and a human torso (there are also images of hybrids with the torso of a man and the body of a bull, donkey, sheep or goat).
According to Greek legends, centaurs lived in the mountains of Thessaly and Arcadia and were, with the exception of Chiron and Pholus, wild and violent creatures. One of the most famous acts of the centaurs was the attempt to kidnap Hippodamia, the bride of the Lapith king Pirithous. In the battle with the Lapiths they were defeated. Legends say that horse people came to Greece from the mountains, but due to an excessive craving for alcohol, they were expelled from Hellas by people.
In a superbly preserved Mayan fresco discovered in one of the temples of the city of Bonampak in the Mexican state of Chiapas, you can see strange gods with mandibles instead of mouths and crocodile faces. Similar images are found among the Olmecs, Toltecs, and Aztecs.
Before the creation of man, human-beast hybrids or animals endowed with intelligence were a kind of servants of the gods and performed some economic functions. In Egypt, near the village of Deir el-Medine, a settlement for the builders of the Theban necropolis was opened. Among them were scribes and artists who painted the walls of the tombs. Ancient Egyptian craftsmen left rough sketches and sketches of drawings made on clay fragments or limestone tiles, later called “ostracons” by the famous French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero. During excavations, about 5 thousand drawings were discovered depicting scenes from the life of the Egyptians. Many of them baffle scientists. For example, an Egyptian papyrus kept in the British Museum depicts jackals guarding kids. Both “shepherds” walk on their hind legs and carry baskets behind their backs. The procession is closed by a jackal playing the flute. In front of the whole group, a cat stands on its hind legs and chases the geese with a twig. Another drawing even depicts a “chess tournament” between a lion and a gazelle: they are sitting in chairs in front of the board; the lion bared its teeth, as if saying something, making a move; the gazelle “clasped its hands” and released the figure.
Francois Champollion, who was the first to decipher and read Egyptian hieroglyphs, believed that such drawings were a kind of political satire. But there is no evidence of the existence of this literary genre among the ancient Egyptians.
Some figurines depict mysterious animals that command people or dictate something to scribes.
People with a dog's head were also depicted on old Orthodox icons - St. Christopher
Pliny, Paul the Deacon, Marco Polo, and Adam of Bremen wrote about people with dog or jackal heads as real beings. Anubis, in the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians originally the god of death, the patron of the dead, as well as necropolises, funerary rites and embalming, was usually depicted in the guise of a wolf, a jackal or a man with the head of a jackal. The god of wisdom Thoth was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or baboon, the goddess Sokhmet as a woman with the head of a lioness, etc. The killing of a sacred animal was punishable by death among the Egyptians. Sacred animals and birds were embalmed after death and buried in special cemeteries.
In the early 1960s, during the construction of a highway in Crimea, a bulldozer turned a stone “box” onto the surface of the earth. The workers opened the lid of the sarcophagus: it contained a human skeleton with the head of a ram, and the skeleton was solid, the head was integral with the skeleton. The road foreman called archaeologists, whose expedition was working nearby. They looked at the bones and decided that the road workers were playing a joke on them, and they immediately left. After making sure that the find did not represent any historical value, the workers razed the sarcophagus to the ground.
Archaeologists sometimes find ancient burials in which animal and human bones are mixed, as well as skeletons of various animals, and often the grave lacks a human head or contains an incomplete set of animal bones. It is believed that these are the remains of sacrificial gifts. But it is quite possible that these are hybrids created by aliens.
Unusual artifacts are discovered in many different areas of the world. Not far from Glauberg, a Celtic settlement of the 5th century BC was discovered in 1997. e. There, in a mound plundered in the Middle Ages, German archaeologists found a 1.8-meter-high statue of a Celtic leader. The warrior is depicted in chain mail, with a Roman-style shield. And the leader’s head is decorated with huge “bunny” ears.
It is curious that images of people with long ears are found quite often, and in areas significantly distant from each other. There are similar drawings on a rock near the Jordan River, on a burial box found in the Altai Mountains. Huge ears crown the heads of “stone women” in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Khakassia, as well as Chinese figurines of demons.
Myths about anthropoid animals have been preserved among many peoples. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur, a monster with human body and the head of a bull, was born to Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos, from a bull sent by Poseidon to Crete for slaughter. Minos refused to sacrifice the bull, then Poseidon instilled in Pasiphae an unnatural passion for the animal. The fruit of their relationship, the Minotaur, was imprisoned in an underground labyrinth built by Daedalus. Every year, seven young men and women were sacrificed to him, sent by the Athenians as a tax to Minos and as atonement for the murder of Minos’ son in Attica. A terrible monster devoured the unfortunate people. The Athenian prince Theseus voluntarily went to Crete among those destined to be devoured by the Minotaur, killed the monster and, with the help of the thread of the royal daughter Ariadne, who was in love with him, got out of the labyrinth.
Especially often images, reliefs and statues of bulls with human heads are found among the Assyrians and Persians.
The aliens conducted experiments on the hybridization of a variety of animals. The historian Eusebius, based on more ancient sources, describes the monsters that the gods created in time immemorial:
Human beings with goat thighs and horns on their heads; others are half people, half horses (centaurs); bulls with human heads; dog-like creatures with fish tails; horses with dog heads and other dragon-like creatures.
In 1850, the famous French archaeologist Auguste Marriet discovered huge vaulted crypts (so-called crypts) in the area of the Saqqara pyramid, in which hundreds of sarcophagi, carved from solid pieces of granite, were preserved. Their dimensions surprised scientists: length - 3.85 meters, width - 2.25 meters, height - 2.5 meters, wall thickness - 0.42 meters, cover thickness 0.43 meters; the total weight of the “coffin” and the lid was about 1 ton.
Inside the sarcophagi were crushed animal remains mixed with a viscous liquid similar to resin. In some burials, small figurines with images of ancient gods were found. After studying fragments of bodies, Marriet came to the conclusion that they were hybrids of a wide variety of animals. The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death and were convinced that a living creature could only be reborn if its body was embalmed and retained its appearance. They were afraid of the creatures created by the gods and, in order to prevent the monsters from being resurrected in a new life, they dismembered their bodies into small pieces, placed them in coffins, filled them with resin, and covered them with massive lids on top.
During excavations in the Gobi Desert, the Belgian scientist Friedrich Meissner discovered a human skull with horns. At first, he assumed that the horns were somehow embedded in the skull, that is, they were transplanted, but studies by pathologists showed that these were natural formations: they formed and grew during the life of this creature.
Perhaps the aliens conducted genetic experiments to create humanoids, as well as various hybrids of humans and animals in the Middle Ages. In the chronicles of the Mongols, curious evidence of unusual children has been preserved:
A khan named Sarva, who was the son of Kushal, the khan of Indian Magada, had the youngest of five sons with turquoise hair and flat arms and legs; his eyes closed from bottom to top...
Since Duva Sokhor had a single eye in the middle of his forehead, he could see at a distance of three nomads.
Medieval scientists reported about the birth of various freaks: A Pare, U. Aldrovandi, Lycosthenes. There is information about the birth of children with the head of a cat, dog, and also with the body of a reptile.
Currently, the media provides numerous information about the birth of deformed children with gills, with cat-like, vertically located pupils, cyclops with one eye in the forehead, with membranes between the fingers and toes, with green or blue skin. In March 2000, a message appeared that in India, in one of the hospitals in the city of Pollachi (Tamil Nadu), a “mermaid” was born - a girl with a fish tail instead of legs. She did not live very long; her body was transferred to one of the medical institutions for study. In March 2001, the Ananova news agency reported that in India, near Parappanangadi, a strange baby was born to an ordinary sheep. The unusual lamb had no hair on its body, and its nose, eyes, mouth, tongue and teeth were similar to human ones, and its entire face generally resembled the face of a bald man in dark sunglasses. The mutant (or hybrid?) lived only a few hours after birth. Perhaps all these freaks are echoes of experiments conducted by aliens on people in the distant past. Another option cannot be ruled out: genetic experiments on our planet continue.
AND eternal battle! We only dream of peaceThrough blood and dust...
The steppe mare flies, flies
And the feather grass crumples...
A.Blok
The horse plays an important role in many mythological systems. They are an attribute (or image) of a number of deities. The symbolism of the horse is extremely complex and not entirely clear. The horse symbolizes intelligence, wisdom, nobility, light, dynamic strength, agility, quickness of thought, and the passage of time. It is a typical symbol of fertility, courage and powerful power. This image is also an ancient symbol of the cyclical development of the world of phenomena (the horses carrying Neptune with a trident from the depths of the sea embody the cosmic forces of primeval chaos).
In the traditions of many peoples, the horse is revered as a sacred animal. He acts as a necessary attribute of the highest pagan gods and at the same time is a chthonic creature associated with the cult of fertility and death. Among the Slavs (and not only among them), horse mummers participated in calendar rituals, including Kolyada, Christmastide, etc. The Dictionary of Slavic Mythology reports:
“...The horse was equally considered the brainchild of Belobog (the element of light) and Chernobog (the element of darkness), and was dedicated to the good god white horse, and to the evil one - black. With the division of power over the world and all the phenomena of its existence, white horses are transferred in the popular imagination to the sun god, the thunder god (first Perun, then Svyatovid and, finally, Svetlovid-Yarila), black horses become the property of Stribog and all the violent winds - Stribog's grandchildren . The sun is a heavenly horse, running around the sky from end to end during the day and resting at night.”
Skates are still placed on the roofs of Russian huts to this day as a sign of the sun, calling for a harvest, and, consequently, prosperity for the home. And in the old days, when building a house, a horse was laid in the foundation, and when the house was moved, its skull was taken out of the ground and buried under the foundation in a new place. The city wall was erected in the same way.
In ancient Russian pagan mythology, the Horse is one of the most revered sacred animals, an attribute of the highest pagan gods, special creatures associated simultaneously with the productive power of the earth (water) and the killing potency of the underworld. In Ancient Rus' it was believed that the horse was endowed with the ability to foretell fate, and above all death, to its owner. In pagan times, the horse was buried along with its owner.
The veneration of the horse in Russia was such that even in Christian times special patron saints and horse holidays were established for it. The patron saints of horses were St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Florus and Laurus, St. George the Victorious and St. Elijah the Prophet. Special “horse holidays” were celebrated on the day of remembrance of St. Flora and Lavra and on spring St. George's Day.
The Indian Upanishads describe the ritual of sacrificing a horse to the gods. A similar thing is present in the Shatapatha Brahmana, Vajasaneya Samhita of the Yajurveda, which indicates the creation of the world from parts of a horse during its sacrifice.
The Zoroastrians also worshiped horses, in whose mythology the chariot of the god Ardvisura Anahita is drawn by four white horses: wind, rain, cloud and sleet. And the thunderer Tishtriya, personifying Sirius, according to legend, descends from the sky every year in the form of a white golden-eared horse to battle the demon of drought Apaoshi, who appears in the form of a black, shabby, ugly horse. According to the beliefs of the Iranians, the outcome of their battle depended on whether there would be rain, and therefore fertility and life itself.
In the Komi-Permyak tradition, horses are the holders of the earth: “The earth rests on three horses: black (raven), red and white. When a black horse holds, there is famine and pestilence on the earth, when a white one, there is continuous war and death on the earth, when a red one, peace, tranquility and prosperity reign.”
In China, the horse represents heaven, fire, yang, south, speed, perseverance, and good omen. In Japan, the goddess Batō Kannon, the merciful Great Mother, appears either as a white horse, with the head of a horse, or wearing a crown with the figure of a horse.
Buddhism considers the horse a symbol of indestructibility, the hidden nature of things. The winged horse Cloud is one of the images of Avalokiteshvara. Another winged horse, Pegasus, is represented in ancient mythology. He was the son of Poseidon and Medusa. Poseidon is generally considered the creator, father or giver of horses. One day he pursued Demeter, inflamed with love for her. Trying to escape, she turned into a horse, but he took the form of a horse and managed to achieve his goal. From this marriage was born Arion, a divine horse who could speak.
In the Roman pantheon there was a goddess-protector of horses, borrowed from the Celts, named Epona, associated with fertility, abundance, healing and at the same time with the cult of death (acting as a guide and guardian of dead souls during the transition to the kingdom of the dead). The Celts generally had a lot to do with horses. In Ireland and Wales, the word “horse” (Irish: Ech) is present in the names of many mythical characters associated with the solar cult and the other world. For example, the good god Dagda is called Eochaid, the Father of all, and one of the rulers of the Fomorians is called Eoho Ehkend (“Eoho horse’s head”).
The goddess Epona was considered the heavenly patroness of horses. She was invariably depicted surrounded by horses, often with symbols of fertility and abundance. Epona was often identified with healing, in particular with hydrotherapy. In addition, her cult is associated with death; it is believed that she played the role of guide and guardian, guarding the souls of the dead during the transition to the underworld.
In German-Scandinavian mythology, the horse is dedicated to Odin, who rode the eight-legged mare Sleipnir. Clouds are war horses Valkyries.
In Christianity, the horse symbolizes the Sun, courage, nobility. It is the emblem of the saints (George, etc.). Finally, the four horses of the Apocalypse are war, death, famine and epidemic.
Being a symbol of the Sun or solar god, the horse gradually became an attribute of royal power. But how can a solar symbol be associated with the cult of death? Yes, it’s very simple: just as the Sun circles through the day and night sides of the world, so the horse must carry its rider through death to a new rebirth, to a new life.
Among the peoples of the Caucasus (Abkhazians, Ossetians, etc.), the horse participates in funeral and memorial rites, in particular, it is dedicated to the deceased by circling it around the body, placing the bridle in the hand of the deceased and cutting the horse’s ear or cutting off its hair. On the day of the funeral, circles of animal fat and pieces of meat were hung on the trunk of a branchy tree, and a fire was made under it. Riders at the races competed in the art of snatching lard and meat from the flames of the fire; the winner was given a ram, which he sacrificed as a memorial sacrifice. However, the customs of horse games at weddings, calendar holidays, etc. are also well known.
The suit of the horse is not random. IN different traditions you can notice the predominance of two colors: gray and red. On Russian icons depicting snake fighting, the horse is almost always either white or fiery red. In these cases, the color red clearly represents the color of flame, which corresponds to the fiery nature of the horse. White color is the color of otherworldly creatures, creatures that have lost their corporeality - wherever a horse plays a cult role, it is always white. Thus, the Greeks sacrificed only white horses; in the Apocalypse, death sits astride a “pale horse”; In German folk beliefs, death is riding on a skinny white nag.
The horse represents unbridled passions, natural instincts, and the unconscious. In this regard, in ancient times he was often endowed with the ability of prediction. In fairy tales (for example, those of the Brothers Grimm), the horse, as possessing the qualities of clairvoyance, was often entrusted with the task of promptly warning its masters. Jung believes that the horse expresses the magical side of Man, intuitive knowledge.
The most important and famous Vedic ritual is the “horse sacrifice”, Ashvamedha. In its structure, elements of a cosmogonic nature are visible - the horse practically personifies the Cosmos and its sacrifice symbolizes (i.e. reproduces) the act of creation. The ritual was intended to cleanse the entire country of sin and ensure fertility and prosperity. Traces of this ritual can be found among the Germans, Iranians, Greeks and Latins.
Shamanic tradition:
The horse occupies a very special place in shamanic ritual and mythology. The horse, primarily a carrier of souls and a funeral animal, is used by the shaman in various situations as a means to help achieve a state of ecstasy. It is known that a typical shamanic attribute is an eight-legged horse. Eight-hoofed or headless horses are recorded in the mythology and rituals of German and Japanese “male unions.” The horse is a mythical image of Death, it delivers the deceased to the other world, and makes the transition from one world to another.
Throughout history, horses have been credited with the gift of clairvoyance, which allows them to see invisible danger. Therefore, they are considered especially susceptible to witches' spells. In past times, witches took them at night to go to the Sabbath, they ran around on them for a long time and returned at dawn exhausted and covered with sweat and foam. To prevent "witch races", witchcraft and the evil eye, horse owners placed charms and amulets in their stalls and attached brass bells to their reins. During the witch hunts it was believed that the devil and the witch could turn into horses
Unicorn. It is one of the most romanticized images and has different names, appearance and attributes in different cultures. One of the most popular incarnations of the unicorn in modern Western culture is a white horse with a long, often golden horn growing from its forehead. In Eastern culture, the unicorn is depicted as a cross between a horse and a goat with artiodactyl limbs and a goat's beard. The Japanese unicorn is called "kirin", and in China it is called "ki-ling". Both words come from the Hebrew “re”em,” which means “one horn.” The Greek historian Ctesias wrote the following about unicorns in 398 BC: in appearance it resembles a wild bull, the size of a horse, has a white body, dark red head, blue eyes and one horn. This description probably appeared as a result of colorful stories of travelers who imagined the unicorn as a cross between a wild bull, a Himalayan antelope and an Indian rhinoceros.
Various magical qualities were attributed to the unicorn's horn. For example, the ability to heal the sick and wounded and even resurrect the dead. In some images the horn is white at the root, black in the middle and with a red tip. One medieval tale tells of a unicorn who dipped his horn into poisoned water, thereby purifying it and allowing the animals to drink. This is probably where the tradition of noble and royal families drink from vessels in the shape of a unicorn horn, thereby protecting yourself from the danger of poisoning.
In Western culture, the unicorn is considered an inaccessible wild animal; in Eastern culture, on the contrary, it is an affectionate and submissive creature.
A similar mythological animal, called indrik, also exists in Russian folklore. Indrik had two horns, he lived on the holy mountain and was the lord of all animals and the ruler of the waters.
Centaurs are very popular mythological characters. From the head to the hips they have the body of a man, and the rest of the body of a horse. Ancient peoples considered centaurs to be bright and kind creatures who did good. An exception to this was the Greek legend that tells of several centaurs who were invited to a feast, where they drank too much wine and started a battle that resulted in the death of many centaurs.
The most famous centaur was Chiron, who was educated by Apollo and Artemis, and was an excellent hunter, herder, healer and soothsayer. According to legend, Chiron became the teacher of the great warrior Achilles. This centaur was so respected by the gods that after his death, Zeus took him to heaven and turned him into the constellation Sagittarius.
The Trojan Horse was a huge hollow wooden horse that helped the Greeks conquer Troy. The Trojan prince Paris fell in love with the beautiful Helen, the wife of the Greek Menelaus, kidnapped her and took her to his kingdom. In retaliation, Menelaus gathered a huge Greek army and began the siege of Troy, which lasted ten years. Finally, the cunning Odysseus came up with an idea on how to outwit the Trojans. He offered to make a huge wooden horse and climb inside the Greek army, before pretending that it had left for its homeland, and that the horse left behind was a gift to the gods. The Trojans believed, opened the gates and dragged a horse into the city. The Greeks got out of it and captured the city. Since then, the expression “Trojan horse” has been a common noun, meaning “cunning, trick.”
And the fabulous horses (“Golden Horse”, “Sivka-Burka”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, the horse of Ilya Muromets, and finally)! They are subject to space and time, and have the ability to transport the hero not only over enormous distances - “above a standing forest, below a walking cloud,” but also between worlds. In addition, they transform the hero, who, for example, crawling from the left horse's ear to the right, turns from a ragamuffin into a prince. In addition, they are faithful companions, they help out even after death, finding living and dead water, etc., which means they help to get through and overcome death.
The ancient times are long gone, and even those in which horses were the main means of transportation and the main draft force, too. No, they did not become useless, but the beauty of their appearance and the expressiveness of their gaze remained attractive to us...
Look: over there, on that rock - Pegasus!
Yes, this is it, shining and stormy!
Salute these mountains. The day has gone out
but there is no night... Greet the purple hour.
Above the steepness there is a huge white horse,
like a swan, splashing with white wings, -
and so it soared, and into the clouds, over the rocks,
silver fire splashed its hooves...
Hit them, burned one, then another
and disappeared in a frenzied purple.
Night has come. No peace, no heaven, -
everything is just night. Greet the naked night.
Look at her: the hoof print is steep
recognize in the star that fell silently.
And the Milky Way floats above the darkness
airy, flowing mane.
