Centaurus (Greek mythology) his life. Zeus took pity on the centaur and let him die. To honor him, Zeus gave Chiron a place amongst the stars. 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
Titan (mythology) in their war against Zeus. Some scholars consider that Olympiodorus' report, the only surviving explicit expression of this mythic connection, embodied a tradition that dated to the Bronze Age, while Radcliffe Edmonds has suggested an element of innovative allegorized improvisation to suit Olympiodorus' purpose. Some 19th- and 20th-century scholars, including Jane Ellen Harrison, have argued that an initiatory or shamanic ritual underlies the myth of the dismemberment and cannibalism of Dionysus by the Titans. She also asserts that the word "Titan" comes from the Greek τίτανος, signifying white "earth, clay, or gypsum," and that the Titans were "white clay men",