human
and part horse. Its head, arms and chest are those of a human and the
rest of its body, including four legs, hindquarters and a tail is like
that of a horse. Centaurs are the followers of the wine god Dionysus and
are well known for drunkenness and carrying off helpless young maidens.
They inhabited Mount Pelion in Thessaly, northern Greece. According to
one myth, they are the offspring of Ixion, the king of Lapithae
(Thessaly), and a cloud. He had arranged a tryst with Hera, but Zeus got
wind of it and fashioned a cloud into Hera's shape. Therefore, the
Centaurs are sometimes called Ixionidae.
Notorious is their bestial behavior on the wedding of Pirithous, king of the Lapiths. They violated the female guests and attempted to abduct the bride. What followed was a bloody battle, after which they were driven from Thessaly. An exception was the kind and wise centaur Chiron, the teacher of the Greek heroes Jason and Achilles. In medieval romances, the centaurs were called "Sagittary", hence the 9th birth sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius.
Here are some pictures from Portaria, Affissos, Lehonia, Kala Nera & Milies (old train).
2008