Welcome | Feather | Magic | Pride | Fusion | Purity | Lessons Learned...
"Our next
beast, or wonderful creature as I like to think of them, is the
Centaur," our guide began as we entered the room. I was so busy
looking at our guide that I hadn't noticed the wonder that was around
us. We were again in a one-exhibit room. If I didn't know
that we were in a building in the middle of suburbia, I would have
thought surely we were in a forest! There were vines hanging from
the ceiling and leaves littered the ground. The box, once again
corded off with velvet ropes, was, this time, against one wall.
The smell was amazingly fresh, I could see stars above and I heard
birds in the canopy but our centaur was no where to be seen.
"The Centaurs, unlike the Pegasus, were a race of beings, not a single creature. Their top half if human and their bottom half is horse. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors, just like modern day horses. Some have said that they were unmatched in intelligence, beauty and even in war. Like the birth of Pegasus, theirs was also unusual." The skeptic of our group sighed deeply. "Not another snake lady", he cried loudly! "No", our tour guide said. "This was even more unusual." She sat down on a stump while we crowded around her trying to see beyond the trees in the distance to catch a glimpse of the Centaur.
" Zeus, the almighty god of gods, caused this race to be born. Ixion, a mortal and king of Thessaly, tried to rape Zeus's wife Hera. She, being very upset by this, went to Zeus and told him what Ixion had done. He was outraged and decided to test Ixion. He made a cloud in his wife's image and sent it to Ixion. When Ixion bragged to his friends and family about what had occurred between himself and Hera, Zeus caused him to be bound to a wheel that spun continuously. The wind created by this spinning caused the father of the race, Centaurus, to be born from the cloud who had become pregnant during the union of Ixion and Hera."
We all stared in disbelief. Another woman in the group stood up and began walking into the trees. "How wonderful", she said! "Zeus wanted to avenge the wrong that was done to his wife! I'm still not exactly sure how the race came to be. Is there any more to the story?"
"Oh yes. Much more. Centaurus was the father of all of the others of his kind. He mated with nymphs to create females and so a race was born. Most thought of them as brutish and rude but there was one among them that was very adept at medicine, the arts and music. His name was Chiron. He was wise and kind hearted. So much so that many mothers sent their young sons to train at his side. He created many heroes, among them Jason and Achilles."
"The Centaurs, unlike the Pegasus, were a race of beings, not a single creature. Their top half if human and their bottom half is horse. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors, just like modern day horses. Some have said that they were unmatched in intelligence, beauty and even in war. Like the birth of Pegasus, theirs was also unusual." The skeptic of our group sighed deeply. "Not another snake lady", he cried loudly! "No", our tour guide said. "This was even more unusual." She sat down on a stump while we crowded around her trying to see beyond the trees in the distance to catch a glimpse of the Centaur.
" Zeus, the almighty god of gods, caused this race to be born. Ixion, a mortal and king of Thessaly, tried to rape Zeus's wife Hera. She, being very upset by this, went to Zeus and told him what Ixion had done. He was outraged and decided to test Ixion. He made a cloud in his wife's image and sent it to Ixion. When Ixion bragged to his friends and family about what had occurred between himself and Hera, Zeus caused him to be bound to a wheel that spun continuously. The wind created by this spinning caused the father of the race, Centaurus, to be born from the cloud who had become pregnant during the union of Ixion and Hera."
We all stared in disbelief. Another woman in the group stood up and began walking into the trees. "How wonderful", she said! "Zeus wanted to avenge the wrong that was done to his wife! I'm still not exactly sure how the race came to be. Is there any more to the story?"
"Oh yes. Much more. Centaurus was the father of all of the others of his kind. He mated with nymphs to create females and so a race was born. Most thought of them as brutish and rude but there was one among them that was very adept at medicine, the arts and music. His name was Chiron. He was wise and kind hearted. So much so that many mothers sent their young sons to train at his side. He created many heroes, among them Jason and Achilles."
The skeptic, never at a loss
for words, jumped into the conversation at this point. "Okay, the
first horse we saw was born from blood. This one was born from a
cloud? Did you people ever do things normally?" Our guide,
looking more than a little perturbed said, "You think your race of
people to be above us? You would not have medicine if it were not
for Chiron, the most noble of Centaurs. He created the art of
healing. He taught Asclepius who healed many of the wounded who
fought in the Trojan War. Has that war not been conformed by your
own kind?" The skeptic said, "Yes but..." His answer was
cut short by our guide who now stood up and beckoned near a
particularly dense thicket of trees..
The centaur that came out of the trees to greet our guide was, for lack of a better word, breath-taking. He was sorrel red with auburn hair and large green eyes. His huge hoofs were covered with large amounts of fur called feather. His upper body was sleek and tanned, his features were chiseled, and his eyes were thoughtful As he began to speak the skeptic had to lean against a tree to keep from losing his balance.
"I am Onatus and I am 500 years old. I am young by my clan's standards but old by yours. Our race has learned to hide to so that we would not be persecuted by your kind. If there is one thing that I would like for you to take from this journey through my world today it is this - magic is all around you. It is within you", he stressed. "Don't leave this place and return to your life as usual. Learn to see the magic that is within all things. Recognize it, cherish it and learn from it. My kind is immortalized in the stars, the constellation Centaurus, and so is yours. I would love for us to be able to live together but until you see the magic, it cannot be." With that sentiment, he turned and left. The guide wiped a single tear from her cheek and opened a door that had just appeared in front of us. We all followed her through...
Web Sources:
The Mythology Homepage - Centaurs
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/CENTAURS.html
Classical Trivia - A Humurous Look at Greek and Roman Mythology
http://www.travel-italy.com/ct/centaurs.html
Theoi Project
www.theoi.com/Okeanos/Kentauroi.html
The Mythology Homepage - Chiron
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Chiron.html
Author's Notes
The story told above is about the race of Centaurs and can be found in the weblinks above. The character Onatus, and what he has to say, is mine.
The story told above is about the race of Centaurs and can be found in the weblinks above. The character Onatus, and what he has to say, is mine.
