Centaur (pronounced sen-tawr)
(1) In
classical mythology, one of a race of monsters having the head, trunk, and arms
of a man, and the body and legs of a horse (modern depictions in the age of the internet seem to prefer
the upper body of a woman). The synonym
is hippocentaur.
(2) In
astronomy, the constellation Centaurus (initial capital letter).
(3) In
astronomy, any of a group of icy bodies with the characteristics of both
asteroids and comets, orbiting the Sun in elliptical paths, mostly in the region
between Saturn & Neptune.
(4) In
modern slang, a skillful (male or female) rider of a horse.
(5) In
rocketry, a US-designed and built upper-stage (with re-startable
liquid-propellant engine), used with an Atlas or Titan booster to launch
satellites and probes.
(6) In
chess, team comprising a human player and a computer.
(7) By
extension, in AI (artificial intelligence), a human and some form or AI, working
together.
1325–1375:
From the Middle English, from the Old English, from the Latin centaurus, from the Ancient Greek, from Κένταυρος
(Kéntauros), thought to mean “a
member of a savage race from Thessaly” although some etymologists are
sceptical. Historically, Thessaly was
known as Αἰολία (Aiolía (Aeolia in modern use)) and that’s
how it was referred to in the Odyssey (Homer’s
epic poem from the eighth or seventh century BC); the gentlemen in Athens were quick to describe those from elsewhere as savages or barbarians, . The half-human, half horse Centaur from Greek
mythology belongs in the class of mixtumque
genus, prolesque biformis (a mixed or blended race, offspring of two forms),
the phrase made famous when it appeared in the Roman poet Virgil’s (Publius
Vergilius Maro (70–19 BC)) Aeneid (29-19 BC) description of the Minotaur, the
mythical creature with the head of a bull atop a human body. The most common use of the adjective centauric was a reference to the
mythological creatures (resembling or of the nature of a centaur) but in the
sometimes weird world of spiritualism it was defined as "characterized by
an integration of mind and body for consciousness above the ego-self"
(whatever that means). When the
adjective is used in SF (SciFi or science fiction) it's with an intital capital if
referring to the residents or natives of the constellation Centaurus. The case difference matters because there no
reason why in SF half human, half-horse beasts can't be part of the ecosystem in
Centaurus and they would have to be described as Centauric centaurs. In fantasy fiction, a centauress was a female
centaur (a she-centaur) and the term centaurette has also been used; it does
not (as the -ette prefix might be thought to imply) mean a “a small centaur”). Presumably, a centauress, while possessing
the secondary sex characteristics of a human female could, anatomically, in the
hind quarters either colt, stallion, filly or mare so it could be helpful if
authors differentiated centauress & centaurette thus.
In the sky
Centaurus is one of two constellations said to represent Centaurs and is associated primarily with Chiron (Cheiron), a wise, immortal being who was king of the Centaurs and said to be a scholar & prophet skilled in the healing arts. In some of the myths, from his cave on Mount Pelion, he is said to have raised, tutored, or counselled several figures prominent in Greek mythology, including Jason, Heracles and Asclepius. Of Chiron's association with the constellation, there are several tales. In one legend, Chiron was the first to identify the constellations and teach them to mortal humans, placing an image of himself in the sky to help guide Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. A different story has Chiron placed in the sky by Zeus and of this telling there are variants but the most common element is Chiron being accidentally wounded by a poisoned arrow and giving up his immortality as a way to escape the never-ending pain. A twist on this has Chiron simply bored with life and wanting it to be over and this came to the attention of Prometheus, the Titan undergoing permanent torture for stealing fire from the gods to give to humans. For Prometheus to be released from his torture, an immortal had to volunteer to renounce eternal life and go to Tartarus in his place. Someone (Zeus, Heracles, or Chiron himself depending on the author) suggested Chiron's offer be used to release Prometheus and for this Zeus honored Chiron with his place in the sky. There’s even a tale in which the constellation represents the Centaur Pholus, honoured thus by Zeus for his skill in prophecy.
On four hooves
Front (left) and rear (right) of the gatefold cover of the album Ride a Rock Horse (1975) by The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey (b 1944). The artwork was the work of his cousin Graham Hughes who produced a number of album covers during the 1970s. Until the early 1980s when the CD (compact disc) reduced the size of packaging, the album cover was the most distributed form of pop-art.
Things rarely were consistent in the evolution of the myths from Antiquity and the mythical centaurs were described variously as being wholly equine from (human) torso down or with the from parts of the legs also human, the latter a popular depiction during the Medieval period while in Classical era, they had four horses' hooves and two human arms. Living on raw flesh and inhabiting mountains and forests, they were descended either from Centaurus (the son of Apollo & Stilbe) or of Ixion & Nephele although the Centaurs Chiron and Pholus were of a different descent lineage: Chiron was the son of Philyra & Cronus while Pholus was fathered by Silenus and born of an unnamed Nymph; what distinguished that pair was that unlike the other herds, they were hospitable and non-violent. The cooking of food being a marker of civilization, it was recorded that when Heracles was hunting the Erymanthian boar, he visited Pholus who received him hospitably, giving him cooked meat whereas Pholus himself ate exclusively raw food.
When Heracles asked for wine, Pholus told him that there was only one jar, which either belonged communally to the Centaurs or had been a gift from Dionysus who had told them to open it only if Heracles should be their guest. Telling his host not to be afraid, Pholus broke the seal but when the Centaurs smelled the wine they galloped from the mountains, armed with rocks, fir trees and torches to attack the cave. The first two Centaurs to attack were Anchius and Agrius (killed by Heracles) but Pholus was killed in the aftermath of the fight: while burying a fallen Centaur he drew one of Heracles' poisoned arrows from a wound but it fell from his grasp, piercing his leg and almost instantly he died. Heracles drove off the remaining Centaurs and pursued them to Cape Malea where they took refuge with Chiron. In the ensuing battle Heracles shot Elatus in the elbow, but Chiron either dropped one of Heracles' arrows on his foot or was shot in the knee by Heracles. The wounds of Heracles' arrows could not be healed and the immortal Chiron begged the gods to make him mortal. It was Prometheus agreed to take on his immortality, and Chiron died, leaving most of the Centaurs to take refuge in Eleusis. Their mother (Nephele) aided them by summoning a rain storm but that didn’t deter Heracles who slaughtered a dozen including Daphnis, Argeius, Amphion, Hippotion, Oreius, Ispoples, Melanchaetes, Thereus, Doupon, Phrixus & Homadus.
Wedding reception gone bad: Rape of Hippodamia (The Lapiths and the Centaurs) (1636-1637), oil on canvas by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain. The painting was one of a large cycle of mythologies by Rubens for the Torre de la Parada, Philip IV's (1605–1665; King of Spain 1621-1665 and (as Philip III) King of Portugal 1621-1640) newly built hunting lodge on the outskirts of Madrid. One of Rubens’ oil sketches for the work is on display at Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels, Belgium and is of interest to art students and critics because of the detail differences in the final composition. On the basis of content shared on the internet, wedding receptions these days are sometimes torrid affairs.
The Centaurs also fought a legendary battle against the Lapiths (a Thessalian people who originally inhabited Pindus, Pelion and Ossa; they drove out the native people, the Pelasgians). Pirithous invited the Centaurs (who regarded themselves as his parents) to his wedding feast and it went well until, unaccustomed to the effects of wine, the Centaurs became drunk and one of them tried to rape (in the classical sense of "abduction") Deidamia (Pirithous' bride and more commonly known as Hippodamia), resulting in a violent brawl which ended with the Lapiths driving the Centaurs out of Thessaly after killing many. Containing so many wonderful subjects (Centaurs, a feast, a rape scene, a brawl), the disrupted wedding reception (which came to be known as “the Centauromachy”) for centuries drew artists to the theme. In Antiquity, the Centaurs got a bad press because they appear in so many legends involving rape, abductions and violence. In many ways the myths can be deconstructed as violent soap operas with an undercurrent of licentiousness, typified by the tales of Eurytion attempting to rape Hippolyta or Mnesimache, the daughter of Dexamenus. In one version Dexamenus had betrothed his daughter to Azan (an Arcadian) and Eurytion (again as a guest at the wedding feast) attempted a kidnapping but she was saved by the hero Heracles arrived in time to kill him, returning bride safely to groom. Most scribes were members of the Heracles admiration society and there also the story of how Heracles, on his way to Augias, seduced the girl, promising to marry her upon his return. While he was away, forcibly she was betrothed to Eurytion but just as the wedding ceremony was about to begin, Heracles stormed in, killed the Centaur and had himself declared her husband.
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recurring themes in Mr Witkin’s work includes death and corpses (or dismembered body-parts), often artfully arranged for staged photo-shoots, his subjects including dwarfs, transgender and intersex persons. As might be imagined, his images sometimes attracted controversy although some in the disabled community did praise his depictions of those living with a range of physical features not often documented in art. Witkin claims his elaborate creations are not at all exploitative and are intended to “honor and elevate” those often neglected and “hidden from view”, rarely presented in an artistic context, motifs sometime drawn from paintings in both the sacred and secular traditions. In an interview, Mr Witkin recalled his interest in what would many would think macabre was trigged when, as a child, he saw the decapitated head of a young girl killed in an automobile accident.
On four wheels
Whatever processes led to Chrysler Australia adopting the name “Centura” for their local version of the European Chrysler 180 (1970-1982) may still exist in the corporation’s archives but it seems the details have never been published though it can be assumed it was not an Anglicized adaptation of the Romanian centură (belt, girdle). In Latin centum meant "one hundred" and the term centuria referred to (1) a unit of the Roman army, nominally consisting of 100 soldiers (historians suggest in practice the establishments varied between 60-160) and headed by a centurion, (2) in real estate a unit of area, equal to 100 heredia or 200 iugera (circa 125 acres (50 hectares)), (3) a group of citizens eligible to vote, the system apparently one of the reforms introduced by Servius Tullius (king of Rome 578-535 BC) and based on the ownership of land, one of the many systems which, over millennia, have codified a relationship between ownership of property (usually land) with a right to in some way participate in the polity (usually by voting) and (4) figuratively or literally, things in some way related to "100". In modern Romance languages, things of course evolved: the Romanian centura (belt or girdle) was from the French ceinture (belt), from the Latin cinctura (girdle, belt), thus by extension used also to refer to the to beltways (ring roads) around cities. In Spanish & Portuguese, the related cintura (waist; belt) is from the same Latin root cingere (to gird; surround).
The name of the short-lived Chrysler Centura (1975-1978) may have been an allusion to the Centaurs of myth because, like them it had a dual nature, combining the platform of a European four-cylinder with a much more powerful (and heavier) Australian built six. That had been a concept Holden (GM's (General Motors) Australian outpost) in 1969 introduced when they installed their six-cylinder engine in a modified Vauxhall Viva and called it the Torana. It proved a great success and Ford Australia in 1972 responded by fitting still larger displacement sixes to the Cortina which, being longer than the Viva, didn’t need the four inch (100 mm) stretch of the wheelbase required for things (tightly) to fit in the Torana. Given the way local journalists would within a few years decry the inherently unbalanced Cortina six, it is remarkable how well the press received the thing upon debut.
Had the Centura been released in 1973 as planned, it might have found success but the timing was unfortunate, the decision by the French government of Georges Pompidou (1911–1974; President of France 1969-1974) to conduct tests of nuclear weapons in its South Pacific territories, prompting the leadership of Australian trade unions to blacklist French goods arriving in ports (Australian trade unions in those days running an independent foreign policy and the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) a kind of co-government). As a consequence, it wasn’t until 1975 the Centura arrived in showrooms and by then the market had moved on, competition rather more intense. Although the Centura offered class-leading performance (indeed, in a straight line it was quicker than many V8s) by virtue of its optional 4.0 litre (245 cubic inch) straight-six (even the 215 (3.5) version could run with the 4.1 (250) Cortinas), increasingly buyers were more tempted by the equipment levels and perceptions (sometimes true) of superior build quality and economy of operation offered by vehicles with origins in the Far East. As it was, Chrysler in 1976 began local production of the Japanese Mitsubishi Sigma and it proved a great success, even without the six cylinder engine once thought such a selling point. Tellingly, although a prototype Centura with a 5.2 (318) V8 was built, the project rapidly was abandoned. Officially, the explanation was the body lacked the structural rigidity to handle the additional torque, the same reason Ford never contemplated their V8 Cortina entering production; engineers familiar with the structures of both platforms agree that was true of the Cortina but maintain the Centura was robust enough and suspect both companies, having observed the subdued demand for the V8 Holden Toranas (1974-1978) decided Holden was welcome to its exclusive presence in the niche sector. Fewer than 20,000 Centuras were built during its dismal three year run, a fraction of what was projected as its annual production.
On three wheels
Although it seems now the company’s best-remembered product, the Rupp Centaur was built only during 1974-1975 with production reaching barely four figures. A fibreglass-bodied, wheeled tricycle available in red, white, blue, and yellow, the Centaur was something of a departure from Rupp’s traditional lines and its existence was a product of (1) climatic conditions, (2) a downturn in the economy and (3) the sharp increase in the price of gas (petrol), induced by the first oil-shock of 1973-1974. Rupp Manufacturing had in 1959 been founded in Mansfield, Ohio by Herbert Edward “Mickey” Rupp (1936–2023), initially as a small-scale operation producing Dart Go-Karts but the venture proved successful enough for the company to expand and in 1960 a line of mini-bikes was introduced. Simple to manufacture and sold with an attractive margin, the cash–flow enabled further development and by 1964 Rupp’s prototype snowmobiles had been sufficiently refined to be suitable for mass production, an encouraging 500 sold the following year, demand steadily increasing. By the end of the decade, Rupp Manufacturing had a staff of over 400 and a catalogue of RVs (recreational vehicles) including mini-bikes, small ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and a signature range of Sno-Sport snowmobiles, by then available in five models. This being the US, there was also the sport of “snowmoble drag-racing” and Mickey Rupp fabricated the “Super Sno-Sport”, a genuinely exotic entrant using a special 308 cubic inch (5.0 litre) V8 from Ford’s racing research department with braking provided by a combination of disk brakes on the drive axle and a parachute, activated by a cable-release mechanism. Whether it ever attained its theoretical maximum speed (150 mph (241 km/h)) isn’t clear but, in 1969, it was recorded at 95.5 mph (153.7 km/h) during a run at West Yellowstone.
While the V8 Super Sno-Sport was a useful publicity tool, Rupp Manufacturing’s core business was more modestly powered snowmobiles and the company entered the 1970s as one of the industry’s most successful, annual production in 1970-1971 reaching almost 40,000 units. However, while the economy was beginning to slow, what really affected things was two successive seasons of poor snow conditions, Rupp especially suffering because it had borrowed money to expand production and built up a large inventory of product to meet an anticipated strong demand, With falling sales and rising debt-servicing costs, the rapidly dwindling profits of 1972 quickly became unsustainable losses and, in 1973, facing imminent bankruptcy, a controlling interest was sold to a investment group (what would now be called a PE (private equity) company). The takeover provided the necessary injection of cash but of course involved also the inevitable “restructuring” (lay-offs and cost-cutting), leading to a market perception was of reduced quality and the possibility of Rupp being closed once the new owners worked out an asset-strip would likely be more lucrative than on-going production. However, defying expectations, product development continued and in 1976 Rupp introduced its “Nitro” line of snowmobiles, now with liquid-cooled Xenoah power-plants. These were a considerable technical advance and reviews were glowing but development costs had been high and the sector had become crowded; although sales were encouraging, profits became marginal as the machines often had to be sold at a discount. In 1977, despite the publicity generated by the Rup 440 Nitro being capable of a genuine 80 mph (130 km/h), the company filed for bankruptcy, even a joint venture with the more stable Arctic Cat operation unable to stave off the inevitable. In 1978, Rupp was wound up.
The change in ownership and troubled history of the early 1970s explains the existence of the Centaur. With an existing product line rendered unsuitable by the sudden decline in the snowmobile market, Rupp needed a new offering that could (1) quickly be developed, (2) be produced using existing assembly lines and (3) be sold at a price acceptable to its market segment and for that roll of the dice, planners settled on a powered-tricycle, a configuration familiar to customizers and specialist applications (police forces, postal services etc). Rupp was targeting not commercial operators but the recreational market and that the machine would offer better fuel consumption than even small economy cars was an attraction, the project conceived when gas had become not only suddenly expensive but also often scarce. Unfortunately for Rupp, the scarcity didn’t last and in retrospect, even if it had, the Centaur’s many impracticalities might anyway have been enough to see it doomed (it was very much a “fun machine” for fine weather and the original version was strictly a single seater; in the recession year of 1974, it was not a compelling formula). Although priced at US$1,700, for what one got, the cost-breakdown didn’t make sense for most because a small Toyota or Datsun could the leave the showroom for as little as US$2,800 and for that buyers got something that could seat five under a roof with a radio and heater. Fun came at a cost and too few were prepared to pay the price.
1975 Rupp Centaur (two seater).
There was also the Centaur’s mechanical specification. Designed originally to use the Volkswagen Type 1’s (Beetle) 1,285 cm3 (78 cubic inch) flat-four engine & transmission, the two companies couldn’t agree to terms so the tricycles were released with a 336 cm3 (21 cubic inch) two-stroke Kohler twin from the snowmobile line. The fuel consumption certainly was low but while in the lightweight Centaur the VW engine would have delivered sparkling performance with an entertaining ability to cruise at 75 mph (120 km/h and by 1974 anyway unlawful because of a 55 mph (88 km/h) speed limit imposed nationally in as a “fuel-saving measure” by Richard Nixon (1913-1994; VPOTUS 1953-1961 and POTUS 1969-1974)), with the little two-stroke, only (a claimed) 55 mph was possible and at that speed the engine was very busy (and noisy), one reviewer remaking “one can almost hear it wearing out”. Compounding the problem, the centrifugal clutch for the automatic transmission (an apparatus that had been a paragon or reliability in snowmobiles) proved troublesome when handing the greater weight of the Centaur and the forces transmitted by the relatively wide contact area of the tyres.
Additionally, despite the minimalism of the body structure, flaws in the design (apparently a miscalculation of lateral loadings) meant the fibreglass had a tendency to crack, leading buyers unhappy and Rupp with expensive warranty claims. It took not long for Rupp to work out the Centaur was not going to be the company's saviour but while a re-design was impossible and Volkswagen refused to lower the price of its engines, some adaptation was possible and in 1975 a two-seat version was released, obviously doubling the seating capacity but further adding to the weight and thus the load on the anyway hard-working engine and its vulnerable clutch. Given all that Rupp probably did well to sell some 1,200 of the things over two years (although some are documented as lingering (discounted) on dealers’ lots as late as 1977). One discerning buyer with a taste for the unusual was Elvis Presley (1935-1977) who purchased his in the summer of 1975 (it’s on display at Graceland) but he found the performance unsatisfactory (he was by then quite bulky which wouldn’t have helped) and after a few weeks replaced it with Super Cycle Stallion tricycle, powered by a Volkswagen flat-four. It’s not known whether Elvis’s dissatisfaction with his Centaur was ever so intense he shot the thing (as he did when his De Tomaso Pantera refused to start) but his feelings were not unique because a number of the surviving Centaurs have been re-powered with Volkswagen engines and at least two have been converted to electric propulsion.
In art
It’s not known if Donald Trump (b 1946; POTUS 2017-2021 & since 2025) is a student of Greek mythology (stranger
things have happened) but he did provide us with his unique vision of the half-horse, half-human beast, labeling content provider, actress & director Stormy
Daniels (Stephanie Gregory Clifford; b 1979) “horse face”. In
May, 2024, the memorable phrase returned to the news as matters came before
court related to “hush money” allegedly paid to Ms Daniels (on behalf the of
the President) in exchange for her maintaining a silence about a certain “intimate
encounter” they had shared, their apparently brief tryst including
her spanking him on the butt with a rolled-up magazine featuring his picture on
the cover. Mr Trump denies not only the
spanking but the very encounter, claiming it never happened. To give a flavor of the proceedings, at one
point counsel asked Ms Daniels: “Am I correct in that you hate President Trump?”
to which she replied: “Yes.” No
ambiguity there and although not discussed in court, her attitude may not
wholly be unrelated to Mr Trump’s rather ungracious description of her as “horse face”. Really, President Trump should have been more
respectful towards a three-time winner of F.A.M.E.'s (Fans of Adult Media and
Entertainment) much coveted annual “Favorite
Breasts” award.
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Born on the Isle of Mann,
Arthur Lemon spent his childhood in Rome before moving to California to work as
a cowboy; there he became a devotee of what he would call en plain air (by which he meant “an outdoor life”). Later he would return to Europe to study art
and for the rest of his life he would travel between Italy and England where
regularly he staged exhibitions at London's Royal Academy; his work most
associated with scenes of the Italian countryside and the daily lives of the
rural peasantry. Lemon's fine eye for
painting a Centaur was a thing of practice.
He became close friends with English artist Henry Scott Tuke
(1858–1929), noted for his prolific output of works in the Impressionist
tradition focused on nude adolescent boys and during the 1880s the pair for a time
lived Florence where they “spent time sketching male nudes in the Italian sunshine.”
Daphnis possessed the youthful beauty of the kind idealized by Tuke and the many nymphs who so adored him. A victim of that beauty, his life ended badly. The artistic approach of Lemon and Tuke was interesting in that their nude youths often were shown in a contemporary setting and in that they differed from the many paintings and sculptures of Ancient Greek gods and mythological which, historically, enabled an exploration of the male nude without upsetting public decency; what Lemon and Tuke especially did was eroticise their young subjects. From his time as a cowboy, Lemon was well acquainted with the physicality of the horse and knew from his studies that in Greek art Centaurs often were depicted as highly sexed figures; being not wholly human, Centaurs could be treated as creatures able to ignore the strict moral expectations of society and accordingly, formed their own community. Lemon and Tuke in their own ways noted this and both took the Centaur as something of a model although while Lemon devoted much of his energy to painting horses, Tuke’s attention on the nude male youth was obviously his obsession. After decades of little interest, in the more permissive atmosphere of the 1970s, Tuke emerged as a cult figure among those collecting gay-themed art but Lemon remained a footnote as a minor artist of rural life.
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