[1][1] [1][2] Some explanations about the mythology and astronomy of the 7 Centaurs © Robert von Heeren, 2000-2004 Foreword to the 7-Centaur-Ephemeris, licensed by the publisher. Available by Symbolon-publishing and Chiron-Verlag. Reproduction or copying this article into other websites only with the written permission by the publishers! In general the Centaurs of Greek mythology are well-known for their wild, uncivilized and raw meat eating behaviour. Their drives typically get out of control after consumption of alcohol œ rape is often reported in mythology and ancient legends. In battles Centaurs use branches, whole trees or rocks as weapons. With only a few exceptions (about which we will speak later), these wild Centaurs are the offspring of the union between Ixion and Nephele. According to the ancient records the wild and passionate Ixion (being a normal human) falls in love with Zeuses wife Hera. She doesn‘t like his wild overtures and asks Zeus for help. In the beginning he cannot imagine that her complaints could have a true background. So he decides to test Ixion: he creates a cloud which resembles Hera perfectly and lures Ixion to it. Ixion indeed believes that this cloud creature, named Nephele, is the true Hera. Soon he makes love with her. Zeus now has his proof for Ixion‘s sinfulness. As a punishment Zeus binds Ixion on a wheel of fire (sometimes it is also explained as a feathered wheel). Nephele later gives birth to a son named Centauros. Like his father he also is human and with the same domination by his physical urges. He unites himself with the wild mares in the mountains of Magnesia of the ancient greece. Their offsprings are the well-known Centaurs œ the lower part of their bodies resemble horses, their upper parts are human. In astronomy the Centaur group has no absolutely clear definiton. The best consens today is: their more or less eccentric orbits are located somewhere between Jupiter and Pluto. Most of the Centaur orbits cross one or even more orbits of main planets and are unstable over long periods of time. Their origin is the Kuiper-belt, a vast ring around the solar system consisting of minor planets, —icy dwarfs“. Chiron[1][3] The Greek mythology about Chiron is extensive, so I will focus only on some interesting parts. Chiron‘s mythological life can be split into three important phases: 1. 1. Chiron‘s birth and origin 2. Chiron‘s work as healer and educator of famous heroes 3. Chiron‘s wound, terminal illness and release According to many mythographs, Chiron‘s father is the father of the gods, Chronos, and his mother is the nymph Philyra. Therefore Chiron is immortal (no other Centaur is!). Chronos loves Philyra. But Chronos was caught by his wife Rhea in the act. To avoid his idenfication by her, he transformed into a stallion. In most cases this is mentioned as the reason, why Chiron became half a human and half a horse. Chronos denied his son Chiron œ this can be seen as some kind of birth trauma. Chiron later became (maybe just because of this birth trauma) a famous and worshipped educator and teacher, who tought the most important Greek heroes as for example Achilleus, Asklepios, Jason and many more. For some of his pupils he was also like a father (see his relationship with Achilleus). He tought them in the art of war (how to cast spears, self-defence, single combat), art of healing (some herbs like Centaury or Chironium still are named after him) and music (on some ancient vases he is seen, teaching Achilleus in playing the lyra). In many ancient poems Chiron is praised as a wise and honourful teacher and healer. Sometimes he is mentioned as the leader of the Centaurs or the most honourable of them all[1][4]. Someday Chiron was wounded by a poisoned arrow, shot during a wild and chaotic battle by his friend Herakles. The arrow hits Chiron in his knee. Because there is no antidote and because of his immortality, the resulting situation is hopeless: he has to suffer from endless pain, but cannot cure himself inspite of his tremendous healing knowledge. Chiron retires from the world with his pain into his cave. Thanks to Herakles‘ effort Chiron will be released from his pain much later: Zeus agrees to Herakles‘ and Prometheus‘ proposal: Chiron exchanges his immortality with Prometheus‘ mortality. So Chiron sacrifices his immortality in order to finally be able to die in peace. Meaning of the name: Chiron‘s name cannot be translated in the scientific, ethymological sense. Its origin probably is a nearly unknown pre-Greek culture and language (that‘s also the case for Pholus, Nessus and Chariklo). Similarities with —Chiropractice“, —Chirology“ and so on are of course obvious, but from a scientific point of view without any direct relation. Nevertheless the folk etymological associations show how close Chiron is to themes of wholeness and the art of healing. The reason for Charles T. Kowal‘s naming proposal was by the way simply an genealogical fact: Chiron‘s orbit is located between Saturn (Chronos) and Uranus (Uranos). Chronos is Chiron‘s father and Uranos is his grandfather. Astronomy: 2060 Chiron (—Slow moving Object Kowal—, preliminary designation —1977 UB“) was sighted for the first time by Charles T. Kowal on October 18, 1977, at 9h08m30s a.m. UT using the Palomar Observatory. As the real discovery date Kowal gave us November 1, 1977, around 6 p.m. UT, Pasadena USA. Discovery position: 3°09‘ Taurus. Chiron‘s orbit is located between Saturn and Uranus. It crosses only Saturn‘s orbit a bit to the inside. For a complete revolution around the sun Chiron needs around 50 years. W ithin the Centaur group Chiron still is an exemption: he is a giant comet with a long tail. Since the astronomers discovered his cometary activity years after his discovery in 1977, Chiron still has two classifications: it is a member of the comet family like 1P/Halley for example is (95P/Chiron = 95th periodical comet Chiron) and it is also part of the group of Centaurs (2060 Chiron), a class of strange minor planets. But Chiron is not a typical comet at all. W ith a diameter of 288 kilometers it is by far too big for a normal comet (the famous Halley‘s comet has in comparison only 10 kilometers in diameter). Furthermore Chiron cannot have a normal cometary activity, during which water vaporizes due to the sun‘s radiation. Astronomers assume a so-called cold vulcanism as the true reason. Chiron‘s orbit suffers from time to time perturbations mainly caused by Saturn‘s gravity. Therefore Chiron‘s orbit is unstable, when observed over long periods of time. Chiron‘s orbit for example had a close encounter with Saturn in 720 A.D. during which its orbit changed significantly. W e only can assume the shape of its orbit before 720 A.D. Even with the most up-to-date calculation methods and orbital elements one cannot compute with 100% accuracy the earlier orbit. An error in the initial elements would result in a dramatically changed orbit before that year. Therefore it doesn‘t make any sense publishing ephemerides or computer software, which give Chiron positions for dates before 720 A.D. [1][5] Pholus In contrary to Chiron, Pholus is not immortal: his father is Silenios and his mother is an ash-tree nymph (a Meliai). The few stories about Pholus‘ life tell us that he lives in reclusion, is civilized and a master in haruspicium (an ancient forecasting method using the intestinies). The mythology around Pholus is in comparison to Chiron‘s mythology sparse. It mainly concentrates on Herakles‘ fourth labour: he is ordered to catch the wild erymanthian boar alive. On the way to that area Herakles visits the —landlord“ Pholus. Pholus do welcome him friendly and gives him roast meat, although Centaurs normally eat unroasted raw meat. But Pholus don‘t offer Herakles wine. Herakles knows that Pholus is the keeper of an old jar of wine (a gift by Dionysos to the Centaurs four generations ago) and is angry that he is not getting any of that delicious wine. Herakles opens the jar against Pholus‘ will without having a premonition of the consequences. The intense smell of the wine reach the wild Centaurs in the valley. Bewitched by this smell and also very angry about the fact that the jar of wine was opened without their agreement, the Centaurs run armed with their typical weapons onto Pholus‘ cave. A battle between Herakles and the wild Centaurs begins. Pholus is only a frightened observer. Inspite of their majority Herakles is able to kill or chase away most of the Centaurs with his poisoned arrows. Finally he continues with his task and catches the boar alive. Meanwhile Pholus pulls an arrow out of one of his dead friends, because he is fascinated how such small arrows could kill so strong Centaurs. But before he is able to study it, the arrow slips through his fingers and falls onto his foot. Pholus dies suddenly due to the poisoned arrow and because of his mortality. On his way back Herakles finds the dead Pholus and is very sad about the fate of his friend. To honour him Herakles buries Pholus under the mountains named Pholo. Meaning of the name: The name —Pholus— (Greek Pholos) cannot be translated. The Greek word —pholis— (scale, plate) is a bit similar, but there is no etymological proof that —Pholus“ has a direct connection to —pholis“.