Centaur

2018-01-31T23:49:15Z

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:''This article is about the mythological species. For the former [[wizard]] of [[FurryMUCK]], see [[Centaur (character)|Centaur]].''
[[File:Male and female centaur.jpg|right|thumb|A male and female centaur from [[World of Warcraft]].]]
[[File:Accidentalcentaurs.png|right|thumb|The cast of [[Accidental Centaurs]]]]
A '''Centaur''' is a [[creature]] from [[Greek mythology]], generally portrayed as a being with the full body of a large [[horse]] with the upper torso, arms and head of a [[human]] located approximately where the horse's head should have been. They were considered barbarians, but certain centaurs, notably [[Wikipedia:Chiron|Chiron]] were viewed as divinely wise. Some earlier images of centaurs show them with four human legs rather than the horse body.

The etymology of centaur (also known as '''[[wiktionary:Hippocentaur|Hippocentaur]]''') comes from ken – tauros, possibly "piercing bull-stickers" or "bull-slayer", the same tauros as in [[Minotaur]], "bull of Minos". The name Centaur is thus not descriptive of the creatures shape, but rather its function (slaying bulls). The use of "taur" to mean "a creature having a humanoid torso adjoining a quadrupedal body" can therefore be confusing, more so as "[[wiktionary:taur|taur]]" means "bull" in some languages.

Some bestiaries referred to a half-human, half-[[donkey]] creature called an "Onocentaur".{{fact}}

There are few mythological tales of [[female]] centaurs, this may be because the myths make them out to be all [[male]]s, but biologically it could be due to the fact that female centaurs may lack upper body [[breasts]] (despite how they are often shown in art) and so mistaken for males. {{fact}} There are other centaurs found in different cultures.

== Centaur and furry ==

In [[anthropomorphic]] or [[furry fandom]], there are many variant types of centaur, often with greater or lesser amounts of animalistic appearance. For instance some have the upper bodies of humans but the lower bodies of [[foxes]], [[lion]]s or even [[spider]]s. In this case, centaur becomes a more generalized term referring to a usually [[hexaped]]al creature possesed (usually) of two manipulative appendages and four locomotive limbs, though even this can vary significantly, such as in the case of a spider centaur, which could have eight lower limbs.

Some are wholly animal in appearance, these usually go by the generic name '''[[taur]]''' usually having the upper body of an anthro creature and the lower body of the same. A [[foxtaur]], for example, would have the upper body of an anthro fox as well as four lower fox appendages.

== See also ==

* [[W:Centaur|Centaur]] on [[Wikipedia]]
* [[:Category:Centaur characters|Centaur characters]]
* [[Centaurs Gatherum]]

==External links==

* [http://furry.de/miavir/stories/key.centaur.html "Centaur" species keyword] at the [[Mia's Index of Anthro' Stories]]

[[Category:Mythological species]]
[[Category:Equine species]]
[[Category:Taur species]]

[[ru:Кентавры]]

WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Centaur