Chiron

Who Was Chiron?

Chiron (Cheiron, Kheiron) was the most important Centaur in Greek mythology, famous as a teacher of heroes. Unlike the other centaurs he was a son of the Titan Cronus and the nymph Philyra, and Homer calls him “the most righteous of the Centaurs” (Iliad 11.832). He lived on Mount Pelion, taught healing to Asclepius and the arts of a hero to Jason and Achilles, and was immortal until a wound from Heracles made him wish to die.

Family and Background

Chiron was the son of Cronus and Philyra (Hesiod, Theogony 1001–1002 calls him “Cheiron the son of Philyra”; Pindar, Pythian 3, calls him son of Philyra and seed of Cronus). He is therefore a half-brother of Zeus, though he is not counted among the Olympian gods; he is an immortal centaur. Ovid names the nymph Chariclo as the mother of Chiron’s daughter Ocyrhoe, a prophetess who inherited her father’s arts (Metamorphoses 2.633–639). In Apollonius’ Argonautica (1.553–558) Chiron’s partner stands beside him on the shore at Pelion, holding the infant Achilles on her arm. In Pindar, Jason says that he comes from the cave of Chariclo and Philyra, where the Centaur’s daughters reared him (Pythian 4.102–103).

Was Chiron Like the Other Centaurs?

No. The other centaurs descend from Ixion and a cloud (Pindar, Pythian 2), and they are shown as violent and drunken. Chiron is called the most righteous of them (Iliad 11.832), and Hyginus writes that he surpassed the other centaurs and even men in justice (Astronomica 2.38). In the sources his body is that of a centaur: Apollonius says that Philyra bore “huge Cheiron, half like a horse, half like a god” (Argonautica 2.1231–1241). No ancient text gives him human front legs.

What Other Names Was Chiron Known By?

His name appears in Greek as Cheiron, Kheiron and, in Latin, Chiron. Hesiod, Pindar and Apollonius also call him “Philyrides”, son of Philyra (Theogony 1002; Pythian 3; Argonautica 1.554).

Where Did Chiron Live and Teach?

Chiron lived in a cave on Mount Pelion in Thessaly. Pindar speaks of his “cavern of stone” there (Nemean 3) and Hesiod of the mountains where he reared Medeus, the son of Jason and Medea (Theogony 1001–1002). Apollodorus adds that the Lapiths later drove him from Pelion and he settled at Cape Malea (Library 2.5.4).

The Birth of a Different Centaur

Cronus and Philyra

Chiron was born to Cronus and Philyra as a centaur of double form (Apollodorus, Library 1.2.4). Apollonius explains why: Cronus was surprised by Rhea while lying with Philyra, sprang from the bed and rushed off in the shape of a horse (Argonautica 2.1231–1241). Ovid alludes to the same story when he says that Saturn, as a horse, fathered double-natured Chiron (Metamorphoses 6.126). Philyra, ashamed, left the place and went to the Pelasgian ridges, where she bore Chiron (Argonautica 2.1231–1241).

A Childhood Apart

The sources do not describe his childhood. They show him as an adult, already learned in medicine and prophecy. Homer says that he taught Achilles gentle drugs, which Achilles passed on to Patroclus (Iliad 11.830–832), and Pindar shows Apollo calling him from his cave to look at Cyrene and tell what he knows of her future (Pythian 9).

Chiron’s Home and Family

Marriage to Chariclo

Chiron’s consort was the nymph Chariclo, who bore him a daughter, Ocyrhoe, on the bank of a rushing river (Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.636–637). Pindar names Chariclo together with Philyra as the women of Chiron’s cave (Pythian 4).

Chiron’s Children

The ancient sources name Ocyrhoe, the prophetic daughter of Chariclo (Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.633–675), and Melanippe, whom Euripides made a daughter of Chiron; she was brought up on Pelion, bore a child to Aeolus, and was changed into a mare and set among the stars (Hyginus, Astronomica 2.18).

Chiron the Teacher of Heroes

A School for Future Heroes

Chiron raised and taught many young heroes on Pelion. Pindar sums up the tradition: “within his cavern of stone deep-counselled Cheiron rear Jason, and next Asklepios, whom he taught to apportion healing drugs with gentle hand”, and then Achilles (Nemean 3.53–58).

His Famous Students

• Asclepius, brought to Chiron by Apollo after Coronis died on the pyre (Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3; Pindar, Pythian 3). Homer knows the drugs that Chiron gave to Asclepius (Iliad 4.217–219).
• Jason, who as a child was handed to Chiron to be reared (Pindar, Pythian 4.115), and who later took Orpheus as a companion on Chiron’s advice (Apollonius, Argonautica 1.32–34). At the departure of the Argo Chiron came down to the shore to wave farewell (Apollonius, Argonautica 1.553–558).
• Achilles, the “son of Peleus” whom Peleus brought to Chiron, who fed him on the innards of lions and wild boars and the marrow of bears (Apollodorus, Library 3.13.6; Iliad 11.832).
• Medeus, son of Jason and Medea, reared by Chiron in the mountains (Hesiod, Theogony 1001–1002).
• Phoenix, whose sight Chiron restored after his father blinded him, according to Apollodorus (Library 3.13.8).

Chiron also helped Peleus, the father of Achilles. When Peleus was left on Pelion and caught by centaurs, Chiron saved him and returned his sword (Apollodorus, Library 3.13.3), advised him to hold Thetis however she changed shape (Library 3.13.5) and gave him an ashen spear cut on Pelion (Iliad 16.143–144).

Teacher of Medicine

The tradition of Chiron as a healer begins in Homer. Menelaus’ wound is dressed with soothing drugs that Chiron once gave to Asclepius out of kindness (Iliad 4.217–219), and Patroclus treats a wound with drugs learned from Achilles, whom Chiron taught (Iliad 11.830–832). Pindar wishes that Chiron were still alive in his cave, so that the poet could persuade him to give men another healer of fevers (Pythian 3).

Chiron’s Death

Heracles and Pholus

In Apollodorus, Heracles was on his way to catch the Erymanthian boar when he was entertained by the centaur Pholus. He asked for wine, Pholus opened the jar the centaurs shared, and the smell drew the other centaurs to the cave. Heracles drove them off with brands and arrows and pursued them as far as Cape Malea (Library 2.5.4).

Chiron’s Injury

The centaurs took refuge with Chiron, who had settled at Malea. Heracles shot at them and the arrow passed through the arm of Elatus and lodged in Chiron’s knee. Heracles ran up, drew out the shaft and applied a drug Chiron gave him, but the wound was incurable (Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4). In Ovid’s version the accident happens on Pelion, when the hero visits Chiron and Achilles, then a boy, stands by; Chiron handles the arrows and one falls on his left foot (Fasti 5.387–398); the poison was the blood of the Lernaean serpent mixed with the centaur’s own blood (Fasti 5.405–406). Hyginus also says the arrow fell on his foot (Astronomica 2.38).

An Endless Pain

Chiron was immortal and so could not die of the wound. Ovid says the poison was stronger than his medicine and that young Achilles wept at his side (Fasti 5.397–412). Apollodorus writes that Chiron withdrew to his cave and wished to die, but could not (Library 2.5.4).

The Exchange with Prometheus’ Freedom

The Bargain

Apollodorus says that Chiron wished to die but could not, until Prometheus offered himself to Zeus to be immortal in his place, and so Chiron died (Library 2.5.4). Later, when Heracles shot the eagle and released Prometheus, he “presented Chiron” to Zeus, who “though immortal, consented to die in his stead” (Library 2.5.11).

Honoured After Death

Ovid writes that on the ninth day Chiron died and was set among the stars, with fourteen stars around his body (Fasti 5.413–414). Hyginus also lists Chiron as the constellation Centaurus (Astronomica 2.38); he adds that Jupiter pitied him and placed him in the sky holding an animal to be sacrificed on an altar. The old claim that he took a place on Olympus is not found in the sources.

Chiron in Ancient Literature

Hesiod’s Theogony

Hesiod names Chiron as the son of Philyra who reared Medeus (Theogony 1001–1002). The Theogony does not record his parentage by Cronus; that comes from later sources.

The Library of Apollodorus

Apollodorus gives the birth from Cronus and Philyra (1.2.4), the care of Asclepius and Achilles (3.10.3, 3.13.6) and the wounding by Heracles (2.5.4).

Pindar’s Odes

Pindar mentions Chiron in the Pythian and Nemean odes as the wise tutor of Jason, Asclepius and Achilles (Pythian 3, Pythian 4, Nemean 3).

Ovid’s Fasti

In book 5 of the Fasti (5.379–414) Ovid tells how Heracles’ arrow wounded Chiron in his cave on Pelion and how he became a constellation.

Misconceptions and Lesser-Known Facts

Chiron Was Not One of the Wild Centaurs

The other centaurs descend from Ixion and a cloud, while Chiron is the son of the Titan Cronus and the nymph Philyra. Homer calls him the most righteous of the centaurs (Iliad 11.832).

Chiron Could Not Simply Choose to Die

Because he was immortal, Chiron could not end his pain on his own. Apollodorus explains that his release came only when Prometheus took his immortality (Library 2.5.4; 2.5.11).

He Taught Far More Than Fighting

Chiron is a teacher of healing drugs (Iliad 4.217–219, 11.830–832; Pindar, Pythian 3) and of prophecy (Pindar, Pythian 9), as well as of the ordinary skills of a young hero.

He Was Not Killed by an Enemy

Chiron was struck by mistake in a fight he had not begun. In Apollodorus the arrow was meant for the other centaurs, and in Ovid it falls from Chiron’s own hand while he examines it.

Chiron Sources

Homer, Iliad 4.217–219, 11.830–832, 16.143–144; Hesiod, Theogony 1001–1002; Pindar, Pythian 2, 3, 4 and 9 and Nemean 3; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.32–34, 1.553–558 and 2.1231–1241; Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4, 1.2.4, 2.5.11, 3.10.3, 3.13.3–8; Ovid, Fasti 5.379–414 and Metamorphoses 2.633–639, 6.126; Hyginus, Astronomica 2.18 and 2.38.

See Also: Centaur, Cronus, Philyra, Asclepius, Achilles, Jason, Peleus, Heracles, Prometheus