PLEASE PLEASE tell me there's a niche story of Chiron the centaur somewhere in the myth, like a short one or something PLEASE I'M TIRED OF REREADING TSoA, PJO AND THOSE ANGST SOLANGELO/PATROCHILLES FANFIC MAN (they're all peak story on their own) WHY CAN'T I FIND MORE OF HIM
Hahaha I understand don't worry. You know I too find it incredible how terribly underrated Chiron is even if he literally appears everywhere. Most people seem to point out just his nature as a teacher of heroes (which is no small thing of course) but it is interesting how few things we say about him!
So first things first, sorry in advance if this gets long or if I make mistakes;
Chiron Information List:
-> An Exception to his kind
Just like other creatures that are part animal in Greek mythology, Centaurs are no exception. On average they are mostly linked to their instincts so they are usually more lustful, more prone to violent behavior and oftentimes without sense of measure in their drinking habits (a classical example being the battle between Centaurs and Lapithes which started when the centaurs got drunk in the wedding and started attacking the women) Chiron is one of those exceptions to the rule. He is calm, wise and knowledgeable and teaches his heroes about propriety and sense of measure. He is, in other words, the opposite of what his kind is usually depicted as and maybe that is the reason he prefers to stay isolated and teach the virtuous instead. This contrast is also given to ancient Greek art sometimes by making Chiron have a full body of a man and only part horse unlike the average centaur;
-> Titan Parentage, Brother to Gods
As stated in sources like fragments of a lost Titanomacheia by Eumelus (7th-6th century BC) and other later sources like Apollodorous, Chiron is in fact son of Cronus and therefore half-brother to the original 6 Olympians. His mother is named as the Oceanis (daughter of Oceanus) Philyra. This means that Chiron is in fact immortal. There are some sources of later accounts that I shall mention below that make Chiron give up his immortality. In later sources like Suda "Aphroi" he is also seemingly have another sibling by the same mother named Aphros ("foam") who is depicted as an ichthyocentauros or half-man, half-seahorse creature. According to Suda "Aphroi" he was the mythical king of Libya and the mythical ancestor of Africans
-> Married and children
Yes the great centaur Chiron might be represented in the average conscious as a loner hermit who only enjoys the company of his students but this is not actually true. Cheiron's mate is the nymph of mount Pelion Chariclo.
Out of their union there are several children depending on the sources, including the Pelionides Nymphs aka the nymphs of Pelion but others as well. In fact Chariclo is mentioned in Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica when she alongside with Chiron, bring Achilles down the shore where he is to wave his father goodbye (artwork that was also sketched by @midnightproser)
💬 4 🔁 3 ❤️ 16 · Waving Father Goodbye - Achilles Comic · References under cut References Used: For Chiron and Achilles For Chiron and
-> Potential ancestor of Achilles
According to one of the later sources, I believe Hyginus, one of his offspring was the Thessalian nymph Endeis who, if you remember by this random graph of mine here:
💬 7 🔁 3 ❤️ 22 · Yeah creating Family Trees for heroes can be addictive! Soooo my small family tree that I wanted to show the family relati
she becomes the wife Aeacus and therefore he is a great-granduncle of Achilles if we follow this line (especially since, as I said before, he is also technically Zeus's half-brother).
-> "Chiron's Cave" is a real location in Thessaly in Greece
As it is actually expected yes we need to have locations that correspond with myths and Chiron's place is no exception. In Thessaly you can visit the so-called "Chiron's Cave" at the western side of Pelion at the area called Mileae, which according to legend was the place where Chiron lived and taught heroes
at mount Pelion you can also walk through the legendary "Path of the Centaur" which is also linked to the mythical location
-> Mentor of Heroes
Naturally his mostly known role is as a teacher of heroes. Some of the most known heroes he trained were Heracles, Theseus, Asclepius, Achilles and Jason. Later sources seem to appreciate his skills so much that add even more students to his resume. One in particular (Xenophon's On Hunting) even if probably unlikely, mentions even Odysseus or Palamedes his students
-> Mentor of Dionysus
A lesser known student of his was in fact god Dionysus. According to the account of Ptolemy Hephestion, according to Photius in his Myriobyblon, Chiron taught Dionysus the bacchic rites, dances and chants
-> Inventor of Medicine and Surgery
One of his lesser known traits is of course his invention of medicine and surgery and the mastering of those. Having taught some great healers like Asclepius or in sources like the Iliad we hear that Patroclus was taught the principles of surgery from Achilles who was in turn, taught by Chiron (in Statius we have the implication that Patroclus was being taught by Chiron in person but Homer doesn't seem to project the same idea). In Hyginus we hear that first Cronus and Chiron are the ones to use herbs for medicine and surgery. As a healer we hear stories such as the one in Apollodorous which tells us that he once brought Phoenix's sight back. When Phoenix got blind, Peleus brought him to Chiron, who healed him
-> Decisive role at the marriage of Peleus with Thetis
One of the main things he seems to be doing is to actually advise Peleus on what to do to succeed to that marriage and he advises him to hold onto Thetis until she stops transforming and gets her real form.
-> Special bond with Achilles
Ironically we do have sources where Chiron is a teacher and a nurturing figure to his students but Achilles seems to be something special to him. We have sources like Statius that seems to tell us Achilles curling up against him or calling him "father" being a father figure to him (title also repeated at Ovid's "Fasti"). The nurturing nature of Chiron to Achilles is shown in other sources like Apollodorous that places Chiron give little Achilles marrow from wild animals like lions to make him grow strong. Now this bond might as well be explaining how in some accounts he is also one of his ancestors.
-> Given up Immortality; healer unable to heal himself
There are many accounts on the immortal centaur Chiron actually dying. A large number of them seems to connect his death with the bow and arrows of Heracles and the poison of Hydra. Most of these accounts speak on accidental death. One of these that seems particularly underestimated and sweet to me is the one accounted by Ovid's "Fasti". In that account Heracles was visiting mount Pelion during the time of Achilles's apprenticeship. Chiron accidentally dropped one of Heracles's poisonous arrows on his foot, piercing himself and befalling in such great pain from his unhealed wound that he ended up abandoning his immortality and finally die. The account is so interesting to me because Achilles actually sees it happen and rushes to the spot begging Chiron not to leave him and not die
💬 6 🔁 3 ❤️ 7 · Live! I beg of you, do not leave me my dear father! · (translation by me) Achilles to Cheiron (Ovid, Fasti) Honestly this
These accounts on the death of Chiron seem to be built around the constellation of Centaurus or Sagittarius.
So these are some small pieces of information that I can come up with now real quick. I hope you like them ^_^
