The controversy surrounding the tale of Ixion and Nephele is integral to understanding the reputation and cultural stigma surrounding the centaurs in Greek mythology.
Unlike many myths involving centaurs—which often pit them against famous heroes in violent confrontation—the story of Ixion and Nephele is an origin myth. As such, it offers particular insight into why the centaurs came to be regarded as shameful, cursed, or morally suspect as a race. This is perhaps why it became one of the most popular centaur origin stories in antiquity, especially since several infamous centaurs—Nessos, Pholus, and Eurytion—were said to be their descendants.
Ixion: Kin to the Centaurs
In Greek mythology, Ixion is a mortal man credited as a forefather of the centaurs. He was married to Nephele (whose name means “cloud”), a cloud-nymph created by Zeus and sometimes described as the daughter of Zeus and Hera.
Ixion was also a descendant of Lapithus, son of Apollo and Stilbe, making him closely related to the centaurs through shared lineage. In some interpretations, this kinship suggests he may even have been a student of Kheiron, the centaur trainer of heroes.
The centaurs, then, were not born wholly outside human society—they were part of an extended mythic family.
The Crime and the Punishment
According to the most common version of the myth, Ixion, while intoxicated, mistook Hera for his wife and attempted to violate her. For this crime, Zeus condemned him to eternal punishment: bound to a fiery, ever-turning wheel in Tartarus as retribution for insulting the Queen of the Gods.
In other accounts, Zeus fashioned Nephele into a cloud shaped like Hera in order to deceive Ixion and expose his hubris. Regardless of the version, the offense is the same—an act of lust, deception, and sacrilege—and the punishment is severe and eternal.
“Cloud-Born” and “Born of Shame”
The centaur descendants of Ixion and Nephele were known as the Ixionidae (“sons of Ixion”) or, in Latin, Nubigenae (“cloud-born”). While these terms are not literal translations, they came to carry a strong negative connotation in antiquity—often implying that the centaurs were born of shame.
This association tied the race permanently to Ixion’s crime and punishment. The sins of the father became the stigma of the descendants.
Reinterpreting the Myth in Sons of Apollo
In my series, Sons of Apollo, I took liberties with this myth to explore its implications more fully.
Rather than making Ixion a descendant of Lapithus, I reimagined him as a descendant of Kentauros, son of Apollo and Stilbe—thus making Ixion himself a centaur. In this version, the punishment assigned to Ixion and his line is rumored to be that the gods turned their favor away from them entirely.
Among men, this withdrawal of divine favor becomes the explanation for the perceived moral decay of the centaurs. Among the centaurs themselves, the descendants of Ixion—the Ixionidae—believe their birthright was stolen from them by the Lapithae. As a political faction, they argue that the centaurs should reclaim their ancestral lands in Thessaly and restore the honor of Mount Pelion to their race.
The term Ixionidae thus functions in two ways:
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As a literal designation for Ixion’s descendants and their ideology.
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As a derogatory label used by outsiders to justify fear, hatred, and exile.
Storytelling, Stigma, and Perspective
Developing these layers of centaur culture has been one of the most rewarding aspects of writing Sons of Apollo. It has also presented a challenge: how to communicate this mythological and political complexity without assuming prior knowledge of Greek mythology.
In Mate for a Centaur, the first book in the series, I introduce readers to centaur culture alongside the rumors, stereotypes, and inherited shame that surround it—allowing the reader to encounter these myths as living forces rather than distant legends.
