Centaur

Centaurs Madeline Westfall ===    ===

__Key Facts:__
**- SEN-tar - brave, wise and sometimes uncivilized - when exposed to alcohol, their behavior becomes especially dangerous - in fighting, they use a bow and arrow. The arrow contains venomous poison which can kill the victim instantly. - derscended from centaurus, who mated with a magnesian mare to creat a being that was half human, half horse. - head, chest, arms = human - waist, legs, feet = horse - symbol of the astrological sign, sagittarious. - good centaurs = Cheiron, Pholus (Friends with Hercules)** ** Origin: **  In Greek mythology, centaurs were adventurous, brave, and wise, but they were also given to brawling and uncivilized behaviour. There are a few different theories about how centaurs, or hippo-centaurs, were created. One story said that Centaurs were descendents of Apollo’s son [|Centaurus]. Another story states that Centaurus was the son of lxion, the king of Thessaly. This meant that if the centaurs were descendents of Centaurus than they were closely related to [|Peirithoüs]. In both cases, the centaurs were formed because Centaurus mated with mares from magnesia. This allowed their offspring to be half human, half horse. The upper body, head chest and arms was human, however the rest of the body, waist, legs and feet, were horse. ** Fighting Techniques ** Centaurs are known for using a bow and arrow as their weapon in fighting. The arrows that they use contain poisonous venom which can kill you almost instantly. Although some centaurs are friendly, most centaurs are rambunctious and rowdy. When it comes to fighting, centaurs do not show pity and become very violent and aggressive. Some centaurs may behave extremely badly. For example, one centaur Nessus tried to rape Hercules wife Deianara. Hercules found Nessus in the act, and shot him with a poisoned arrow. As Nessus lay there dying, he begged Deianara to save some of his blood from the wound. She promised Nessus that she would smear it on one of Hercules' tunics if he were ever to become unfaithful to her. Years later, Hercules became unfaithful to Deianara, so she gave him a tunic to wear. This tunic was smeared with the poisoned blood of Nessus. Once Hercules put the shirt on, he was killed by the venom. This was how Nessus ultimately took revenge on Hercules **Behavior:** Centaurs were known for their failure to drink alcohol. If the ingested alcohol the centaurs would become very uncontrollable. At the wedding of Peirithoüs & Hippodameia, the centaurs became absurdly rowdy. Two centaurs, Eurytion and Nessus distinguished themselves at the wedding, and were later killed by Hercules. The guests worked together to drive the centaurs out of the wedding, To Arcadia where they were met by Hercules.  However, not all centaurs were dangerous, Cheiron, and Pholus were friendly centaurs. Cheiron was one of the wisest being on earth, and he was also immortal. In fact, Cheiron became friends with Hercules. Yet, Hercules still fought against the unfriendly centaurs. In a great battle, Hercules managed to defeat the centaurs, and accidentally wounded his friend Cheiron. Cheiron did not die from the venom, because he was immortal. Instead he was unable to be cured. Subsequently, Cheiron gave up his immorality to Prometheus, and finally died. It is believed that Cheiron was given up to the stars as the constellation Centaurus.  Pholus was also a friend of Hercules. Pholus was killed by one of Hercules’ arrows as well. However, Pholus accidentally dropped the arrow on his hoof, and the venom killed him instantly. In terms of mythology, Centaurs are also a symbol of the Zodiac sign, Sagittarius. The sign Sagittarius is a positive, masculine sign and represents fire and mutability. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, People that where born when the sun was in Sagitarrius, posses this Astrological sign. The sun enters Sagittarius around November 22 until December 21. media type="custom" key="3056114"
 * Astrological Symbolism: **