Centaurus (Greek mythology) Centaurus (Greek mythology) In Greek mythology, Centaurus is the father of the race of mythological beasts known as the centaurs or Ixionidae. The centaurs are half-man, half horse; having the torso of a man extending where the neck of a horse should be. They were said to be wild, savage, and lustful. It was stated that after Ixion fell into insanity and was ostracized by his country, Zeus sympathized greatly with Ixion and brought him up to Olympus to dine with the gods. Here is where Ixion saw Hera, Zeus' wife and queen of the gods. He instantly fell in
Greek mythology libretti for many of Handel's and Mozart's operas. By the end of the 18th century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiasm for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer inspired contemporary poets (such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Keats, Byron and Shelley) and painters (such as Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema). Christoph Gluck, Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others set Greek mythological themes to music. American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of