A centaur was a creature from Greek mythology which was half-man and half-horse. The head, arms and torso of a centaur were human and joined at the waist to the body and legs of a horse. Centaurs represented barbarism and unbridled chaos and were frequently represented in Greek architectural sculpture and pottery decoration.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 800 BCEHomer mentions the centaurs in his book the Iliad.
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c. 700 BCEHesiod mentions the centaurs in his book Theogony.
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660 BCEA Boeotian amphora depicts Medusa as a centaur.
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600 BCE - 400 BCEAttic pottery depicts the centaur Chiron in various mythological scenes.
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600 BCE - 500 BCECorinthian pottery depicts scenes of the centaur Pholos and Hercules.
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600 BCE - 500 BCEThe first depictions on black-figure pottery of Hercules fighting the centaur Nessos.
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c. 460 BCEThe west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia is decorated with a Centauromachy of centaurs fighting Lapiths at the wedding of Peirithoos.
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438 BCEThe cult statue of Athena by Pheidias in the Parthenon depicts centaurs on the sandals of the goddess.
