A centaur , or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being as … See more

Creation of centaurs
The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele. As the story goes, Nephele … See more

Female centaurs
Though female centaurs, called centaurides or centauresses, are not mentioned in early Greek literature and art, they do appear occasionally in later antiquity. A Macedonian mosaic of the 4th century BC is one of … See more

Classical literature
Jerome's version of the Life of St Anthony the Great, written by Athanasius of Alexandria about … See more

The Greek word kentauros is generally regarded as being of obscure origin. The etymology from ken + tauros, 'piercing bull', was a euhemerist suggestion in Palaephatus' rationalizing text on Greek mythology, On Incredible Tales (Περὶ ἀπίστων), which … See more

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 … See more

Classical art
The extensive Mycenaean pottery found at Ugarit included two fragmentary Mycenaean terracotta figures which have been tentatively … See more