Centaur
Videos
Page
A centaur, occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version of the myth, the centaurs were named after Centaurus, and, through his brother Lapithes, were kin to the legendary tribe of the Lapiths.
Centaur
Centauromachy, tondo of an Attic red-figure kylix, c. 480 BC
"Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts" is estimated to have been made between 120 and 130 A.D. for the dining-room of Hadrian's Villa . The mosaic now resides in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in Germany.
Painting by Sebastiano Ricci, of centaurs at the marriage of Pirithous, king of the Lapithae
Ixion
Videos
Page
In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly.
The Fall of Ixion by Cornelis van Haarlem
Punishment of Ixion: in the center is Mercury holding the caduceus and on the right Juno sits on her throne. Behind her Iris stands and gestures. On the left is Vulcan (blond figure) standing behind the wheel, manning it, with Ixion already tied to it. Nephele sits at Mercury's feet; a Roman fresco from the eastern wall of the triclinium in the House of the Vettii, Pompeii, Fourth Style (60–79 AD).
Ixion by Jules-Elie Delaunay, 1876
José Ribera's grittily realistic Ixion, 1632 (Museo del Prado).