Centaurs in the context of "Foloi oak forest"

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⭐ Core Definition: Centaurs

A centaur (/ˈsɛntɔːr, ˈsɛntɑːr/ SEN-tor, SEN-tar; Ancient Greek: κένταυρος, romanizedkéntauros; Latin: centaurus), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (Ancient Greek: Ἰξιονίδαι, romanizedIxionídai, lit.'sons of Ixion'), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version of the myth, the centaurs were named after Centaurus, and, through his brother Lapithes, were kin to the legendary tribe of the Lapiths.

Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being as wild as untamed horses, and were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Centaurs are subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary. They remain a staple of modern fantastic literature.

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Centaurs in the context of Lapithes (hero)

In Greek mythology, Lapithes (/læpθs/);(Ancient Greek: Λαπίθης) may refer to the following figures:

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Centaurs in the context of Metopes of the Parthenon

The metopes of the Parthenon are the surviving set of what were originally 92 square carved plaques of Pentelic marble originally located above the columns of the Parthenon peristyle on the Acropolis of Athens. If they were made by several artists, the master builder was certainly Phidias. They were carved between 447 or 446 BC, or at the latest 438 BC, with 442 BC as the probable date of completion. Most of them are very damaged. Typically, they represent two characters per metope either in action or repose.

The interpretations of these metopes are only conjectures, starting from mere silhouettes of figures, sometimes barely discernible, and comparing them to other contemporary representations (mainly vases). There is one theme per side of the building, each featuring battle scenes: Amazonomachy in the west, the fall of Troy in the north, Gigantomachy in the east, and Centaurs and Lapiths in the south. The metopes have a purely warlike theme, like the decoration of the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos housed in the Parthenon, and seem to be an evocation of the opposition between order and chaos, between the human and the animal (sometimes animal tendencies in the human), between civilization and barbarism. This general theme is considered to be a metaphor for the Persian wars and thus the triumph of the city of Athens.

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Centaurs in the context of Agrius

Agrius (/ˈæɡriəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄγριος means "wild") in Greek mythology, is a name that may refer to:

The city of Agrinio, the largest city in Aetolia, took its name from Agrius.

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Centaurs in the context of Dryas (mythology)

Dryas (Ancient Greek: Δρύας, gen. Δρύαντος, from δρῦς "oak") is the name of several figures in Greek mythology, including:

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Centaurs in the context of Eurynomus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Eurynomos (/jʊəˈrɪnəməs/; Ancient Greek: Εὐρύνομος; Latin Eurynomus) may refer to the following characters:

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Centaurs in the context of Ampyx

In Greek mythology, Ampyx (Ancient Greek: Ἄμπυξ) or Ampycus (Ἄμπυκος Ampykos means 'woman's diadem, frontlet') was the name of the following figures:

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Centaurs in the context of Corythus

Corythus is the name of six mortal men in Greek mythology.

  • Corythus, son of Marmarus, and one of the court of Cepheus. He wounded Pelates during the battle at the wedding feast of Perseus and Andromeda.
  • Corythus, an Italian king and father, in some sources, of Iasion and Dardanus by Electra.
  • Corythus, one of the Lapiths. Only a youth, he was killed nonetheless by Rhoetus, one of the Centaurs.
  • Corythus, an Iberian, beloved of Heracles. Was said to have been the first to devise a helmet (Greek korys, gen. korythos), which took its name from him.
  • Corythus, one of the Doliones. He was killed by Tydeus.
  • Corythus, a king who raised Telephus, son of Heracles and Auge, as his own son.
  • Corythus, son of Paris and the nymph Oenone. When he grew up he went at Troy, where he was received warmly by Helen of Troy and fell in love with her, so Paris killed him. Corythus was alternatively the son of Helen and Paris, who died along with his two brothers when a roof collapsed in Troy.
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Centaurs in the context of Homolium

39°53′42″N 22°37′43″E / 39.89498°N 22.62858°E / 39.89498; 22.62858

Homolium or Homolion (Ancient Greek: Ὁμόλιον) or Homole (Ὁμόλη) was a town and polis (city-state) of Magnesia in ancient Thessaly, situated at the foot of Mount Homole, and near the edge of the vale of Tempe. Mt. Homole was the part of the chain of Ossa lying between Tempe and the modern village of Karitsa. Mt. Homole is sometimes used as synonymous with Ossa. It was celebrated as a favourite haunt of Pan, and as the abode of the Centaurs and the Lapithae. Pausanias describes it as the most fertile mountain in Thessaly, and well supplied with fountains.

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