Palaimon is the Alpha (the leader with the highest rank) in the first centaur herd the reader meets in the Sons of Apollo series. His namesake in mythology is the deified son of Io and Zeus. I chose this name because it means "the wrestler." Physical strength is the means by which a centaur earns… Continue reading Meet Palaimon
I was recently asked why I chose to write a story based on Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, there is a powerful intersection between the imaginative tale and the personal narrative. Every story is centered around a character and his or her experience and journey. Even the epic tales with large casts reveal the characteristics… Continue reading Why Greek Mythology?
In Greek mythology, Stilbe is a naiad, a water nymph. In myth, she is a minor character in which little more than her name and her familial ties are known. She is the daughter of the river god, Peneus. By Apollo, she is the mother of twins: Kentauros, a centaur, and Lapithus, a man. She… Continue reading Meet Stilbe: Oracle of Apollo
Hercules wasn’t the only hero to have dealings with the race of centaurs besides their own kin. Theseus (of minotaur-slaying fame) was also present with the Lapithe in their battle with the centaurs. In fact, men were not the only ones to have dealings with the centaurs. Women were often the objective that caused the… Continue reading Virtue and Manliness: The Story of Atalanta and the Centaurs.
The fantastical beasts and monsters are some of the most intriguing elements of any fantasy or mythological story. Greek mythology has no shortage of unique creatures. One such creature is the centaur. The centaurs are a race of half man, half horse beasts traditionally depicted as a man from the waist up, joined to a… Continue reading The Centaurs: A Fascinating Trope From Greek Mythology
The controversy surrounding the tale of Ixion and Nephele is integral to understanding the reputation and culture of the centaurs in Greek Mythology. Rather than a tale of fighting with Greek heroes, the story of Ixion and Nephele is one of the many origin stories of the centaurs, and as such provides particular insight into… Continue reading Ixion and Nephele: A Tale of Seduction and Punishment
Often, bad behavior can be traced to equally bad origins. Perhaps the origins of their race is the reason the centaurs are credited with such a bad reputation in mythology. The origins of the centaurs are given several different explanations in mythology depending on the author, the region of Greece the author is from, and… Continue reading The Origin Myths of the Centaurs: Insightful or Condemning?
Hercules, the greatest of the Greek heroes, had several dealings with the centaurs, each episode more famous than the last. One notable encounter was his fight with the centaur Eurytion (Eurytos in some versions of the myth) for the hand of the beautiful princess, Deianeira. Her father, King Dexamenos promised her to the centaur as… Continue reading Bride-stealing centaur or bride-stealing hero? You decide.
Hercules’ battle with Nessos wasn’t the hero’s only encounter with the centaurs that ended in bloodshed. Another was the story of Hercules fighting the centaurs on Mount Pholus. This was a hugely popular story in Ancient Greece, rivaling the account of the Centauromachy, the largest battle of the centaurs. During the hero’s fourth labor, the… Continue reading Friend Or Foe- Hercules’ Penchant For Battling Centaurs
The most well known centaur myth is the story of Hercules and Nessos (Nessus in Latin). It is a relatively short, but exciting tale, full of seduction, intrigue, deception, revenge and a fight to the death. After the battle with the Lapithe and subsequent expulsion from their homeland in Thessaly, the centaurs fled to various… Continue reading Hero Versus Centaur- Hercules and Nessos
