This article is about the Greek mythological character. For the scrolling news overlay sometimes called a "chyron" in North America, seelower third. For other uses, seeChiron (disambiguation).
Chiron
The Education ofAchilles by Chiron,fresco fromHerculaneum, 1st century AD (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples)
Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for his youth-nurturing nature. His personal skills tend to match those of his foster fatherApollo, who taught the young centaur the art of medicine, herbs, music, archery, hunting, gymnastics, and prophecy, and made him rise above his beastly nature.[3] Chiron was known for his knowledge and skill with medicine, and thus was credited with the discovery of botany and pharmacy, the science of herbs and medicine.[4]
Likesatyrs, centaurs were notorious for being wild, lusty, overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, violent when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents. Chiron, by contrast, was intelligent, civilized, and kind, because he was not related directly to the other centaurs[5] due to his parentage. He was the son of the TitanCronus and theOceanidPhilyra,[6] and thus possible brother toDolops[7] andAphrus, the ancestor andeponym of the Aphroi, i.e. the nativeAfricans.[8][9] Chiron lived predominantly onMount Pelion; there he married thenymphChariclo who bore him three daughters,Hippe (also known asMelanippe meaning the "black mare" orEuippe, "good mare"),Endeïs, andOcyrhoe, and one sonCarystus. A different source also stated that his wife was calledNais[citation needed] while a certain Aristaeus was called his son.[10]
Like the other centaurs, Chiron was later expelled by theLapithae from his home; but sacrifices were offered to him there by theMagnesians until a very late period, and the family of the Cheironidae in that neighbourhood, who were distinguished for their knowledge of medicine, were regarded as his descendants.[11]
Peleus wrestlingThetis between Chiron and a Nereid. Side B of an Attic black-figure amphora, c. 510 BC.
Although acentaur, Chiron's physical appearance often differs somewhat from other centaurs, demonstrating his status and heritage. In traditional Greek representations of Chiron his front legs are human, rather than equine. This is in contrast to the traditional representation of centaurs, which have the entire lower body of a horse.[12] This clearly sets Chiron apart from the other centaurs, making him easily identifiable. This difference may also have highlighted Chiron's unique lineage, being the son ofCronus. Chiron is often depicted carrying a branch with dead hares he has caught hanging from it. Chiron is also often depicted wearing clothes, demonstrating he is more civilised and unlike a normal centaur (the only other occasional exceptions to this rule are the centaursNessus andPholus).
Clay centaur figurine found atLefkandi, dated to 1050-900 BC and thought to be an early representation of Chiron[13][14]
TheEducation ofAchilles wall painting, from the basilica in Herculaneum (top right), is one of the most common Roman depictions of Chiron, as he teaches Achilles the lyre. In this version we see Chiron with a fully equine lower body, in contrast to the ancient Greek representations. In addition to this reconfiguration, Chiron's appearance is further altered with his ears. Whereas previously human, Chiron's ears now match those of asatyr; folded over at the top. This rendering creates a more bestial version of Chiron, much more akin to a standard centaur. It may be possible that due to the rise of written sources, Roman artists were inspired by written descriptions of Chiron; simply using the word centaur, rather than having available traditional visual representations. This may, then, not be a deliberate reworking of the Chiron myth on the part of the Romans, but simply a lost nuance of the character in its migration from Greece to Rome. As F. Kelsey writes;"The Chiron of our painting, ... has a body like that of the other centaurs, but the prominence of the human element in his nature is no less marked; he is the wise and gentle teacher, the instructor of an art".[15] Chiron has retained an element of clothing and gained a laurel wreath, suggesting the artist wished to portray nobility, or even divinity, more consistent with the traditional view. It has also been suggested that this fresco is a reproduction of an actual statue in the Roman forum.
Amphora suggested to be Achilles riding Chiron. British Museum ref1956,1220.1.
According to an archaic myth,[16] Chiron was sired by theTitanCronus when he had taken the form of ahorse[17] and impregnated thenymphPhilyra.[18] In another version his mother was the nymphNaïs.[19]
Chiron's lineage was different from other centaurs, who were born fromIxion, consigned to a fiery wheel, andNephele ("cloud"), which in the Olympian tellingZeus invented to look likeHera.
Soon after giving birth to Chiron, Philyra abandoned her child out of shame and disgust. Chiron, effectively orphaned, was later found by the godApollo, who took him under his wing and taught him the art of music, lyre, archery, medicine and prophecy. Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, trained him in archery and hunting. Chiron's uniquely peaceful character, kindness, and intelligence are attributed toApollo andArtemis.
Some sources speculate that Chiron was originally aThessalian god, later subsumed into theGreek pantheon as a centaur.[citation needed]
There is also a persistent link withPeleus throughout Chiron's myth. This can be explained that the latter was the grandfather of Peleus through his daughter Endeis who married the king of Aegina, Aeacus. Chiron saved the life ofPeleus whenAcastus tried to kill him by taking his sword and leaving him out in the woods to be slaughtered by the centaurs. Chiron retrieved the sword for Peleus.[31] Chiron then explained to Peleus how to capture the nymphThetis, leading to their marriage.
Chiron is also connected with the story of theArgonauts, whom he received kindly when they came to his residence on their voyage, for many of the heroes were his friends and pupils.[32]
Chiron was a renowned mentor, and brought up some futureheroes such as:
Achilles – The son of theArgonaut Peleus and theNereidThetis. Peleus had a friendly relationship with Chiron who had already saved him from Acastus and a band of murderous centaurs,[31] and later restored the sight ofPhoenix, a blind friend of Peleus.[33] When Achilles was old enough, Peleus brought him to Chiron, who received him as a disciple, and fed him the innards of lions and boars, and bear marrow. In some accounts, Achilles was previously called "Ligyron", and Chiron gave him his new name.[25][26] Later in his life, Achilles taughtPatroclus what Chiron had taught him, including the medical arts.[26]
Aristaeus – Although his motherCyrene lived inLibya, Aristaeus' fatherApollo brought him on Mount Pelion to be reared by Chiron. Aristaeus would later become in his life a god of certain rustic arts such asbeekeeping andcheesemaking. Moreover, he is the protagonist of a creation myth regarding theEtesian winds.[23]
Actaeon – The son ofAutonoë and Aristeus (an aforementioned student of Chiron). He became an excellent hunter thanks to the centaur's lessons. In his adulthood as he was hunting in the woods, he saw the virgin goddessArtemis bathing. She punished Actaeon for seeing her naked body by turning him into astag. Hishunting dogs did not recognize him and devoured him. Ignorant of what they had done, the hunting dogs came to the cave of Chiron seeking their master and the Centaur fashioned an image of Actaeon in order to soothe their grief.[24]
Asclepius – The Greek God of Doctors.Artemis killed Asclepius' motherCoronis after her loverApollo discovered she was cheating on him. But Coronis had conceived a son to him and before her body had been consumed by the funerary pyre he saved the child (Asclepius) and brought him to Chiron, who reared him and taught him the art of healing. When Chiron's daughterOcyrhoe saw him, she prophesied his destiny and death. Because of this,Zeus turned her into a mare. In fact, Asclepius would later die because of hishubris: he had become such a skilled medic he could resurrect the dead and Zeus would end up killing him for this after getting a complaint fromHades. Though Zeus would later revive him as a God to avoid any feuds with Apollo.[22][20][21]
Jason – The leader of theArgonauts was, in some versions, raised by Chiron. Jason's fatherAeson had been locked up by his brotherPelias, yet he managed to conceive a son with a woman namedAlcimede. When Alcimede delivered Jason, she pretended he was a stillborn to escape Pelias' notice and then gave him to Chiron. Jason's son Medus will also become one of the centaur's students.[27][28]
Medus – Alternatively called Medeus or Polyxenus, his mother wasMedea, but accounts differ about his father, who may be eitherJason, an Asian king, orAegeus of Athens.[30] Just like his father, he was reared by Chiron.[29] Later in his life, he would become the first king of theMedes.
Patroclus[34] is also numbered amongst the students byStatius (a Roman poet of the 1st century AD) in his unfinished work, the Achilleid, although Homer clearly contradicts him.[26]
According to Ptolemy Hephaestion (probably the same asPtolemaeus Chennus), a writer and playwright whose works are now lost, Chiron was also the mentor of the godDionysus (who became the centaur'seromenos, and learned from him chants and dances) and of a youth namedCocytus; the latter supposedly curedAdonis when he was wounded by awild boar using the medical techniques learned from his teacher.[35] It is worthy of note that Ptolemy's account only survived thanks toPhotios I's summary of his works. Photios I, an ecumenical patriarch of the 9th century AD, harshly criticized Ptolemy, denouncing him for seemingly distorting, inventing and misinterpreting myths.[35] Considering little is known about Ptolemy and his works are not preserved, it is unknown whether he was simply reporting alternative versions of myths or making them up.
Chiron and Achilles by John Singer Sargent (circa 1922–1925)
His nobility is further reflected in the story of his death, asPrometheus sacrificed his life, allowing mankind to obtain the use of fire. As the son of Cronus he was immortal, so it was left to Heracles to arrange a bargain withZeus to exchange Chiron's immortality for the life of Prometheus who had been chained to a rock where an eagle pecked out his regenerating liver for his transgressions.[36] Chiron was pierced with an arrow belonging to Heracles that had been treated with the blood of theHydra, or, in other versions, poison that Chiron had given to the hero when he had been under the honorable centaur's tutelage. According to aScholium onTheocritus,[37] this had taken place during the visit of Heracles to the cave ofPholus on MountPelion inThessaly during his fourth labour, defeating theErymanthian Boar. While they were at supper, Heracles asked for some wine to accompany his meal. Pholus, who ate his food raw, was taken aback. He had been given a vessel of sacred wine byDionysus sometime earlier, to be kept in trust by the centaurs until the right time for its opening. At Heracles' prompting, Pholus was forced to produce the vessel of sacred wine. The hero, gasping for wine, grabbed it from him and forced it open. Thereupon the vapors of the sacred wine wafted out of the cave and intoxicated the wild centaurs led byNessus who had gathered outside. They attacked with stones and fir trees the cave which was located in the neighbourhood ofMalea. Heracles was forced to shoot many arrows (poisoned with the blood of theHydra) to drive them back. During the assault, Chiron was hit in the thigh by one of the poisoned arrows. After the centaurs had fled, Pholus emerged from the cave to observe the destruction. Being of a philosophical frame of mind, he pulled one of the arrows from the body of a dead centaur and wondered how such a little thing as an arrow could have caused so much death and destruction. In that instant, he let slip the arrow from his hand and it dropped and hit him in the hoof, killing him instantly. This, however, is open to controversy, because Pholus shared the "civilized centaur" form with Chiron in some art images, and thus would have been immortal.
Ironically, Chiron, the master of the healing arts, could not heal himself and willingly gave up his immortality. For this reason, his half-brother Zeus took pity on him and thus placed him among the stars in the sky to be honored. The Greeks identified him as theconstellationCentaurus.[38]
InOvid's poemFasti, Ovid has the heroHercules visiting Chiron's home on Pelion while the childAchilles is there.[39] While Chiron is examining Hercules' weapons, one of the arrows dipped inLernaean hydra venom falls on Chiron's left foot and poisons him:
And while the old man fingered the shafts clotted with poison, one of the arrows fell out of the quiver and stuck in his left foot. Chiron groaned and drew the steel from his body.[40]
Chiron then tries to use herbs to heal himself, but fails. After nine days with a weepingAchilles looking on, Chiron passes into the stars becoming a constellation.[41]
The Education of Achilles byDonato Creti, 1714 (Collezioni Comunali d'Arte di Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna, Italy)
Adidactic poem,Precepts of Chiron, has been lost. However, fragments in heroichexameters that survive in quotations are considered to belong to it.[42] The common thread in the fragments, which may reflect in some degree the Acharnian image of Chiron and his teaching, is that it is expository rather than narrative, and suggests that, rather than recounting the inspiring events of archaic times as men likeNestor[43] orGlaucus[44] might do, Chiron taught the primeval ways of mankind, the gods and nature, beginning with the caution "First, whenever you come to your house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods".
Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829):L'Éducation d'Achille par le centaure Chiron (The Education of Achilles by the centaur Chiron, 1782.)Musée du Louvre, Paris. Chiron teaches the art of archery.
TheAchilleid was to be an epic poem on the life ofAchilles. However, its author,Statius, died during the writing of the second book late in the first century AD during the reign of the EmperorDomitian.The Achilleid shows the relationship between Chiron and his charge, Achilles. During Book One, the close relationship between Chiron and Achilles is made clear whenThetis spends the evening with them in Chiron's cave on MountPelion, before leaving with Achilles. Chiron is shown in a paternal capacity, rather than that of merely a teacher, and is depicted as far from animal.
Night draws to slumber. The huge Centaur collapses on stone and Achilles fondly twines himself about his shoulders, though his mother is there, preferring the familiar bosom.(1.195–97).
Here, Statius is showing a loving relationship between the two characters, which the traditional view of Chiron never explored. Later, when describing what he ate when growing up, Achilles refers to Chiron as a parent;"thus that father of mine used to feed me" (2.102), the Latin used here is 'pater' so we may judge this an accurate translation. This further demonstrates the nature of the loving relationship between Chiron and Achilles. Statius here may be continuing a theme started byOvid inFasti several years earlier.
InFasti, on Chiron's death, Achilles says"'Live, I beg you; don't leave me, dear father [pater]!'"(5.412), this would suggest that in Rome the reconfiguration of Chiron's myth was as a loving and loved foster parent, rather than simply teacher. Chiron's relationship with his pupil is used to demonstrate a Roman longing for the father-son relationship.
In addition to Chiron's loving characteristics developed in Book One, Book Two ofThe Achilleid has Achilles describe many tasks Chiron would make him perform during his heroic education, including standing in fast flowing rivers;
I stood, but the angry river and the mist of his broad rush took me back. He bore down on me with savage threats and scolded to shame me. I did not leave till ordered (2.146–150).
There is a clear contrast here in the hardship and insults Chiron is directing at his pupil compared to his previous kindness. However, this duality can be seen as a demonstration of a traditionalRoman education, especially a noble one; learning both military and refined arts. Centaurs in antiquity were often remembered for their battle with theLapiths. Statius deliberately disassociates Chiron from this story with his description of Chiron's cave on Pelion,
Here are no darts that have tasted human blood, no ash trees fractured in festive combats, nor mixing bowls shattered upon kindred foes (1.111–15).
Instead of combat, the emphasis is that Chiron's weapons are only used for hunting and there are no signs of savage behaviour. In addition to Achilles' descriptions of the physical lessons Chiron gives him he also refers to a more cultured education,
He fixed in my mind the precepts of sacred justice (2.163–4).
Statius creates an image of Chiron that is not only a loving father, but a strict and wise teacher, disassociated with the bestial aspects of centaurs.
Gaius Julius Hyginus,Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Lucius Flavius Philostratus, Heroica, translation by Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean and Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes, WGRW 3 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002), XX. Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Pindar,The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Suida,Suda Encyclopedia translated by Ross Scaife, David Whitehead, William Hutton, Catharine Roth, Jennifer Benedict, Gregory Hays, Malcolm Heath Sean M. Redmond, Nicholas Fincher, Patrick Rourke, Elizabeth Vandiver, Raphael Finkel, Frederick Williams, Carl Widstrand, Robert Dyer, Joseph L. Rife, Oliver Phillips and many others.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Theocritus,Idylls fromThe Greek Bucolic Poets translated by Edmonds, J M. Loeb Classical Library Volume 28. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1912.Online version at theoi.com
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