Centaurs

     Centaurs were creatures with the upper body of a human and the bottom half of a horse. They were said to travel in groups and resided in forests and mountains. The word centaur is translated to “bull-slayer” or “bull killer.” Most centaurs were considered violent and lawless barbarians who frequently were involved in battles. They were also associated with Satyrs, the God Dionysus and Eros because of their drunken and lustful behavior. There are a few famous centaurs in mythology including Nessus whom tricked Hercules wife into accidently killing her husband and Chiron who was known as the kindly centaur. He was the son of Saturn, God of harvest and time of reaping and also a teacher of medicine, music, hunting and archery.

Bronze casts of an old and a young centaur that decorated Villa Adriana. Located at the Musei Capitolini

Renaissance fresco decoration of centaurs located at the Musei Vaticani 

Atsma, Aaron J. "CENTAURS : Half-Horse Men of Thesssaly." Theoi Project. N.p., 2000. Web. 17 Aug. 2013. <http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/KentauroiThessalioi.html>.

"Centaurs." Encyclopedia Mythica. Advameg Inc., 2013. Web. 17 Aug. 2013.

 <http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ca-Cr/Centaurs.html>.