Horse, Human, Hybrid: Investigating Cheiron the Centaur's skills in ancient sources and how these have been adopted in modern classical reception post-1840

Abstract

This thesis utilises the mythological figure of Cheiron the centaur, and examines his skills and qualities as outlined in the ancient sources (both Greek and Roman). It outlines his skills and attributes in six different philosophical and thematic headings: time, to do with his longevity and immortality, and his subsequent catasterization; technology, his hybrid physical body as well as his ability to heal others; epistemology, his knowledge, wisdom, and prophetic skills; metaphysics, his utility in aspects of belief and religion; ethics, his role as both tutor and foster-father to heroes and demi-gods; and finally aesthetics, how his hybrid physical form can influence the form and artistic choices made in production of texts.
After establishing how these attributes are used within the ancient sources, and which are given greater emphasis, the thesis then addresses how these skills are received and privileged by later writers. By necessity, there have been some interesting and important early texts left out, and this work uses modern reception from 1840s onwards through to the twenty-first century. The texts selected have Cheiron often as a supplementary and supporting role, a character that is frequently important to the protagonist, and they give differing amounts of insight and agency to his figure. For some of the texts selected, Cheiron is a shadowy form, informing the portrayal of centaurs more widely, or specific centaurs but without using his name.
Each chapter looks in turn at the six philosophical and thematic headings, changing the order depending upon the particular aspects of Cheiron which are more visible than others for those texts. What is clear from this investigation is that Cheiron is a multi-faceted figure, one which holds fascination for writers and artists, and that he can be used to explore a range of aspects of the self.