Lapiths in the context of "Ampyx"

A centaur (/ˈsɛntɔːr, ˈsɛntɑːr/ SEN-tor, SEN-tar; Ancient Greek: κένταυρος, romanized: kéntauros; Latin: centaurus), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (Ancient Greek: Ἰξιονίδαι, romanized: Ixionídai, 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.

In Greek mythology, Ixion (/ɪkˈsaɪən/ ik-SY-ən; Greek: Ἰξίων) was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly.

In Greek mythology, Centaurus (Ancient Greek: Κένταυρος, romanized: Kentauros) is the son of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river-god Peneius and the naiad Creusa. He is the twin brother of the hero Lapithes and father of the race of mythological beasts known as the Centaurs or Ixionidae (Ιξιονίδαι, Ixionidai). The Centaurs are half-man, half horse; having the torso of a man extending where the neck of a horse should be. They were a kindred people with the Lapiths and were said to be wild, savage, and lustful.

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

• Lapithes, son of Apollo and Stilbe. He and his full brother Centaurus were believed to have given their names to the legendary races of Lapiths and Centaurs respectively. Lapithes settled on the banks of River Peneus and married Orsinome, daughter of Eurynomus, by whom he became the father of Phorbas, Periphas, Triopas (possibly) and Diomede.
• Lapithes, son of Aeolus (son of Hippotes) and father of Lesbus, who married Methymna, daughter of Macareus, and gave his name to the island of Lesbos.

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.

Stilbe (/ˈstɪlbiː/; Ancient Greek: Στίλβη, Stílbē, "glittering", "gleaming") in Greek mythology may refer to the following personages:

• Stilbe, mother of Callisto by Ceteus.
• Stilbe, a nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus and the Naiad Creusa. She bore Apollo twin sons, Centaurus, ancestor of the Centaurs, and Lapithus, ancestor of the Lapiths. In another version of the myth, Centaurus was instead the son of Ixion and Nephele. Aineus, father of Cyzicus, was also said to have been a son of Apollo and Stilbe. By Cychreus, she became mother of the nymph Chariclo, wife of Chiron.
• Stilbe, daughter of Eosphoros and a possible mother of Autolycus by Hermes.

Periphas (/ˈpɛrɪfəs/; Ancient Greek: Περίφᾱς Períphās means 'conspicuousness') in Greek mythology may refer to:

• Periphas, a legendary king of Attica who Zeus turned into an eagle, husband of Phene.
• Periphas, an Egyptian prince as one of the sons of King Aegyptus. His mother was Gorgo and thus full brother of Oeneus, Aegyptus, Menalces, Lampus and Idmon. In some accounts, he could be a son of Aegyptus either by Eurryroe, daughter of the river-god Nilus, or Isaia, daughter of King Agenor of Tyre. Periphas suffered the same fate as his other brothers, save Lynceus, when they were slain on their wedding night by their wives who obeyed the command of their father King Danaus of Libya. He married the Danaid Actaea, daughter of Danaus and Pieria.
• Periphas, one of the five sons of Aretus who fought against Dionysus in the Indian War.
• Periphas, a Aetolian prince as son of King Oeneus of Calydon and Althaea, daughter of King Thestius of Pleuron. He was the brother of Meleager, Phereus, Ageleus, Toxeus, Clymenus, Gorge, Eurymede, Deianira and Melanippe.
• Periphas, a son of Lapithes and Orsinome in Thessaly. He consorted with Astyagyia, daughter of Hypseus, and had by her eight sons, of whom the eldest, Antion was a possible father of Ixion with Perimela.
• Periphas, one of the Lapiths at the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia. He must not be confused with the above-mentioned Periphas who was also a Lapith.
• Periphas, same as Hyperphas.
• Periphas, son of the Aetolian Ochesius, fell by the hand of Ares in the Trojan War.
• Periphas, a companion of Neoptolemus who took part in the destruction of Troy.
• Periphas, one of the sons of King Aeolus of Lipara, the keeper of the winds. He had five brothers namely: Agenor, Euchenor, Klymenos, Xouthos and Macareus, and six sisters: Klymene, Kallithyia, Eurygone, Lysidike, Kanake and an unnamed one. According to various accounts, Aeolus yoked in marriage his sons, including Periphas, and daughters in order to preserve concord and affection among them.
• Periphas, one of the Suitors of Penelope who came from Zacynthus along with other 43 wooers. He, with the other suitors, was shot dead by Odysseus with the aid of Eumaeus, Philoetius, and Telemachus.
• Periphas, a son of Epytus, and a herald of Aeneas.

Pirithous (/ˌpaɪˈrɪθoʊ.əs/; Ancient Greek: Πειρίθοος or Πειρίθους, derived from περιθεῖν, perithein, 'to run around'; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus.