Half-men and
half horses, the Centaurs lived on Mt Pelion in Thessaly. They were violent
and drunk, but also healers, and the centaur Chiron was so wise he became
the teacher of many heroes like Achilles,
Jason and Asclepius.
Heracles had chased
them away to Thessaly after the good centaur Pholos had invited him to dinner.
The smell of the meat made the other centaurs attack Pholos cave in order
to get the food, but Heracles killed some and banished the others. By accident
he also wounded the wise centaur Chiron, who was immortal but could not heal himself. Chiron then gave his life in order to let Prometheus live.
The centaurs were chased out of Thessaly after trying to abduct the wife of the Lapith king Peirithoos at their weddingfeast.
Originally, the centaurs were pictured as a full man with a horse body: the front legs belonged to the man and the back to a hose. Later, they took the form we usually know.