Editing Chiron (section)

==Mythology==
===Early years===
[[File:Amphora 1956,1220-1.jpg|thumb|Amphora suggested to be Achilles riding Chiron. British Museum ref {{British-Museum-db|1956,1220.1|id=466602}}.|left|237x237px]]According to an archaic myth,<ref>A quote from the lost ''[[Titanomachia]]'', provided as a ''[[scholium]]'' on Apollonius Rhodius' ''Argonautica'' 1.554 ([http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/KentaurosKheiron.html on-line quote]); [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 1.8-9, may have drawn upon the same source.</ref> Chiron was sired by the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] [[Cronus]] when he had taken the form of a [[horse]]<ref>Compare the stallion-Poseidon who sired the steed [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]] upon [[Demeter]].</ref> and impregnated the [[nymph]] [[Philyra (Oceanid)|Philyra]].<ref>Apollodorus, 1.2.4</ref> In another version his mother was the nymph [[Naïs (mythology)|Naïs]].<ref>Xenophon, ''On Hunting'' [https://topostext.org/work/796#1 1]</ref>

Chiron's lineage was different from other centaurs, who were born from [[Ixion]], consigned to a fiery wheel, and [[Nephele]] ("cloud"), which in the Olympian telling [[Zeus]] invented to look like [[Hera]].

Soon after giving birth to Chiron, Philyra abandoned her child out of shame and disgust. Chiron, effectively orphaned, was later found by the god [[Apollo]], who took him under his wing and taught him the art of music, lyre, archery, medicine and prophecy. Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, trained him in archery and hunting. Chiron's uniquely peaceful character, kindness, and intelligence are attributed to [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]].

Some sources speculate that Chiron was originally a [[Thessaly|Thessalian]] god, later subsumed into the [[Greece|Greek]] pantheon as a centaur.{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}}

A great healer, [[astrologer]], and respected oracle, Chiron was said to be the first among centaurs and highly revered as a teacher and tutor. Among his pupils were many [[culture hero]]es: [[Asclepius]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 3.10.3 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Iliad_(Murray)/Book_IV |title=The Iliad, Book IV, lines 208-219 |others=Translated by August Taber Murray}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=OVID, METAMORPHOSES 1 - Theoi Classical Texts Library |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses2.html#4 |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> [[Aristaeus]],<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=APOLLONIUS RHODIUS, ARGONAUTICA BOOK 2 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 500-527 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/ApolloniusRhodius2.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> [[Actaeon]],<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 3.4.4 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> [[Achilles]],<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 3.13.6 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Iliad_(Murray)/Book_XI |title=The Iliad, Book XI, lines 822-836 |others=Translated by August Taber Murray}}</ref> [[Jason]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=APOLLONIUS RHODIUS, ARGONAUTICA BOOK 1 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 32-34 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/ApolloniusRhodius1.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN FRAGMENTS - Theoi Classical Texts Library Fragment 13 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodCatalogues.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> [[Medus]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Hesiod, Theogony, line 993 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0130:card=963 |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=PAUSANIAS, DESCRIPTION OF GREECE 2.1-14 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 2.3.8 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias2A.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

There is also a persistent link with [[Peleus]] throughout Chiron's myth. This can be explained that the latter was the grandfather of Peleus through his daughter Endeis who married the king of Aegina, Aeacus. Chiron saved the life of [[Peleus]] when [[Acastus]] tried to kill him by taking his sword and leaving him out in the woods to be slaughtered by the centaurs. Chiron retrieved the sword for Peleus.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 3.13.3 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>  Chiron then explained to Peleus how to capture the nymph [[Thetis]], leading to their marriage.

Chiron is also connected with the story of the [[Argonauts]], whom he received kindly when they came to his residence on their voyage, for many of the heroes were his friends and pupils.<ref>Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 1.554; [[Argonautica Orphica|''Orphic Argonautica'']] [http://topostext.org/work.php?work_id=549 375 ff.]</ref>

===Students===
[[File:DSC00301 - Chirone e Achille - 500 a.C. - Foto G. Dall'Orto.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[lekythos]] depicting Chiron and Achilles]][[File:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 036.jpg|thumb|right|''The Education of Achilles'', by [[Eugène Delacroix]].|217x217px]]
Chiron was a renowned mentor, and brought up some future [[hero]]es such as:

* '''[[Achilles]]''' – The son of the [[Argonauts|Argonaut]] Peleus and the [[Nereids|Nereid]] [[Thetis]]. Peleus had a friendly relationship with Chiron who had already saved him from Acastus and a band of murderous centaurs,<ref name=":13" /> and later restored the sight of [[Phoenix (son of Amyntor)|Phoenix]], a blind friend of Peleus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY BOOK 3 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 3.13.8 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> When Achilles was old enough, Peleus brought him to Chiron, who received him as a disciple, and fed him the innards of lions and boars, and bear marrow. In some accounts, Achilles was previously called "Ligyron", and Chiron gave him his new name.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> Later in his life, Achilles taught [[Patroclus]] what Chiron had taught him, including the medical arts.<ref name=":8" />
* '''[[Aristaeus]]''' – Although his mother [[Cyrene (mythology)|Cyrene]] lived in [[Ancient Libya|Libya]], Aristaeus' father [[Apollo]] brought him on Mount Pelion to be reared by Chiron. Aristaeus would later become in his life a god of certain rustic arts such as [[beekeeping]] and [[cheesemaking]]. Moreover, he is the protagonist of a creation myth regarding the [[Etesian|Etesian winds]].<ref name=":5" />
* '''[[Actaeon]]''' – The son of [[Autonoë of Thebes|Autonoë]] and Aristeus (an aforementioned student of Chiron). He became an excellent hunter thanks to the centaur's lessons. In his adulthood as he was hunting in the woods, he saw the virgin goddess [[Artemis]] bathing. She punished Actaeon for seeing her naked body by turning him into a [[Deer|stag]]. His [[hunting dog]]s did not recognize him and devoured him. Ignorant of what they had done, the hunting dogs came to the cave of Chiron seeking their master and the Centaur fashioned an image of Actaeon in order to soothe their grief.<ref name=":6" />
* '''[[Asclepius]]''' – The Greek God of Doctors. [[Artemis]] killed Asclepius' mother [[Coronis (lover of Apollo)|Coronis]] after her lover [[Apollo]] discovered she was cheating on him. But Coronis had conceived a son to him and before her body had been consumed by the funerary pyre he saved the child (Asclepius) and brought him to Chiron, who reared him and taught him the art of healing. When Chiron's daughter [[Ocyrhoe]] saw him, she prophesied his destiny and death. Because of this, [[Zeus]] turned her into a mare. In fact, Asclepius would later die because of his [[hubris]]: he had become such a skilled medic he could resurrect the dead and Zeus would end up killing him for this after getting a complaint from [[Hades]]. Though Zeus would later revive him as a God to avoid any feuds with Apollo.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
* '''[[Jason]]''' – The leader of the [[Argonauts]] was, in some versions, raised by Chiron. Jason's father [[Aeson]] had been locked up by his brother [[Pelias]], yet he managed to conceive a son with a woman named [[Alcimede (mother of Jason)|Alcimede]]. When Alcimede delivered Jason, she pretended he was a stillborn to escape Pelias' notice and then gave him to Chiron. Jason's son Medus will also become one of the centaur's students.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />
* '''[[Medus]]''' – Alternatively called Medeus or Polyxenus, his mother was [[Medea]], but accounts differ about his father, who may be either [[Jason]], an Asian king, or [[Aegeus|Aegeus of Athens]].<ref name=":12" /> Just like his father, he was reared by Chiron.<ref name=":11" /> Later in his life, he would become the first king of the [[Medes]].
* '''[[Patroclus]]'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=STATIUS, ACHILLEID BOOK 1 - Theoi Classical Texts Library 158-178 |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/StatiusAchilleid1A.html |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> is also numbered amongst the students by [[Statius]] (a Roman poet of the 1st century AD) in his unfinished work, the Achilleid, although Homer clearly contradicts him.<ref name=":8" />

According to Ptolemy Hephaestion (probably the same as [[Ptolemaeus Chennus]]), a writer and playwright whose works are now lost, Chiron was also the mentor of the god [[Dionysus]] (who became the centaur's [[eromenos]], and learned from him chants and dances) and of a youth named [[Cocytus]]; the latter supposedly cured [[Adonis]] when he was wounded by a [[wild boar]] using the medical techniques learned from his teacher.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Photius, Bibliotheca, Codices 186-222. On "New History" by Ptolemy Hephaestion, 190 |url=https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.tertullian.org}}</ref> It is worthy of note that Ptolemy's account only survived thanks to [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photios I]]'s summary of his works. Photios I, an ecumenical patriarch of the 9th century AD, harshly criticized Ptolemy, denouncing him for seemingly distorting, inventing and misinterpreting myths.<ref name=":14" /> Considering little is known about Ptolemy and his works are not preserved, it is unknown whether he was simply reporting alternative versions of myths or making them up.

===Death===
[[File:Chiron and Achilles c1922-1925 John Singer Sargent.jpg|thumb|''Chiron and Achilles'' by John Singer Sargent (circa 1922–1925)]]
His nobility is further reflected in the story of his death, as [[Prometheus]] sacrificed his life, allowing mankind to obtain the use of fire. As the son of Cronus he was immortal, so it was left to Heracles to arrange a bargain with [[Zeus]] to exchange Chiron's immortality for the life of Prometheus who had been chained to a rock where an eagle pecked out his regenerating liver for his transgressions.<ref>Apollodorus, 2.5.4</ref> Chiron was pierced with an arrow belonging to Heracles that had been treated with the blood of the [[Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]], or, in other versions, poison that Chiron had given to the hero when he had been under the honorable centaur's tutelage. According to a ''[[Scholium]]'' on [[Theocritus]],<ref>[[Theocritus]], ''[[Idyll]]s'' 7.149</ref> this had taken place during the visit of Heracles to the cave of [[Pholus (mythology)|Pholus]] on Mount [[Pelion]] in [[Thessaly]] during his fourth labour, defeating the [[Erymanthian Boar]]. While they were at supper, Heracles asked for some wine to accompany his meal. Pholus, who ate his food raw, was taken aback. He had been given a vessel of sacred wine by [[Dionysus]] sometime earlier, to be kept in trust by the centaurs until the right time for its opening. At Heracles' prompting, Pholus was forced to produce the vessel of sacred wine. The hero, gasping for wine, grabbed it from him and forced it open. Thereupon the vapors of the sacred wine wafted out of the cave and intoxicated the wild centaurs led by [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]] who had gathered outside. They attacked with stones and fir trees the cave which was located in the neighbourhood of [[Cape Malea|Malea]]. Heracles was forced to shoot many arrows (poisoned with the blood of the [[Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]]) to drive them back. During the assault, Chiron was hit in the thigh by one of the poisoned arrows. After the centaurs had fled, Pholus emerged from the cave to observe the destruction. Being of a philosophical frame of mind, he pulled one of the arrows from the body of a dead centaur and wondered how such a little thing as an arrow could have caused so much death and destruction. In that instant, he let slip the arrow from his hand and it dropped and hit him in the hoof, killing him instantly. This, however, is open to controversy, because Pholus shared the "civilized centaur" form with Chiron in some art images, and thus would have been immortal.

Ironically, Chiron, the master of the healing arts, could not heal himself and willingly gave up his immortality. For this reason, his half-brother Zeus took pity on him and thus placed him among the stars in the sky to be honored. The Greeks identified him as the [[constellation]] [[Centaurus]].<ref name=":1">Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [http://topostext.org/work.php?work_id=207 2.38.1 ff]</ref>

In [[Ovid]]'s poem ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', Ovid has the hero [[Hercules]] visiting Chiron's home on Pelion while the child [[Achilles]] is there.<ref>[[Ovid]], [[Fasti (poem)|''Fasti'']] [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/288/mode/2up 5.391–396]</ref> While Chiron is examining Hercules' weapons, one of the arrows dipped in [[Lernaean Hydra|Lernaean hydra]] venom falls on Chiron's left foot and poisons him:
:And while the old man fingered the shafts clotted with poison, one of the arrows fell out of the quiver and stuck in his left foot. Chiron groaned and drew the steel from his body.<ref>Ovid, ''Fasti'' [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/288/mode/2up 5.397–398]</ref>
Chiron then tries to use herbs to heal himself, but fails. After nine days with a weeping [[Achilles]] looking on, Chiron passes into the stars becoming a constellation.<ref>Ovid, ''Fasti'' [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/288/mode/2up 5.400–414]</ref>