Centaur

2009-12-30T09:19:17Z

83.149.52.43: ru:Кентавры

''This article is about the mythological species. For the former [[wizard]] of [[FurryMUCK]], see [[Centaur (character)|Centaur]].''

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.

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. There are other centaurs found in different cultures. 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.

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

[[ru:Кентавры]]

Minotaur

2009-12-30T09:08:03Z

83.149.52.43: ru:Минотавр

__NOTOC__[[Image:Myth_minotaur.jpg|right]]
In [[Greek mythology]], the '''Minotaur''' was a creature that was half [[human|man]] and half [[bull]]. It dwelt in the [[Wikipedia:Labyrinth|Labyrinth]], an elaborate maze constructed by [[Wikipedia:King Minos|King Minos]] of [[Wikipedia:Crete|Crete]] and designed by the architect [[Wikipedia:Daedalus|Daedalus]] to hold the Minotaur. The Minotaur was eventually killed by [[Wikipedia:Theseus|Theseus]]. It is one of the earliest examples of an [[anthropomorphic]] character in history.

==The legend of the Minotaur==

[[Image:Minotaur.jpg|left|150px]]
Before Minos of Knossos became king of Crete he asked the Greek god [[Wikipedia:Poseidon|Poseidon]] for a sign to assure him that he, and not his brother, was to receive the throne. Poseidon agreed to send a white bull on condition Minos would sacrifice the bull back to the god. Indeed, a bull of unmatched beauty came out of the sea. King Minos, after seeing it, found it so beautiful that he instead sacrificed another bull, hoping that Poseidon would not notice.

Poseidon was very angry when he realized what had been done, so he caused Minos's wife, [[Wikipedia:Pasiphae|Pasiphae]], to be overcome with a fit of madness in which she fell in love with the bull. Pasiphae went to Daedalus for assistance, and Daedalus devised a way for her to [[bestiality|satisfy her passions]]. He constructed a hollow wooden cow covered with cowhide for Pasiphae to hide in and allow the bull to mount her. The result of this union was the Minotaur. In some accounts, the white bull went on to become the [[Wikipedia:Cretan Bull|Cretan Bull]] captured by [[Wikipedia:Hercules|Hercules]] for one of his [[Wikipedia:Labours of Hercules|labours]].

The Minotaur had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. It was a fierce creature, and Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. It was located under Minos' palace in Knossos.
[[Image:Minotaurdeath.jpg|right|thumb|160px|Theseus slays the Minotaur]]
Minos had just won a great victory over the Athenians, so demanded that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens be sent every ninth year to be devoured by the Minotaur. When the third sacrifice came round, the Greek hero Theseus volunteered to go to slay the monster. [[Wikipedia:Ariadne|Ariadne]], Minos' daughter, fell in love with Theseus and helped him get out of the maze by giving him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur (with a magical sword Ariadne had given him) and led the other Athenians back out the labyrinth.

Minos, angry that Theseus was able to escape, imprisoned Daedalus and his son [[Wikipedia:Icarus|Icarus]] in the labyrinth. They were able to escape by building wings for themselves, but Icarus famously died during the escape.

Sometimes the Minotaur is represented as a bull with a human torso instead of a head, like a bull version of the [[Centaur]].

==Truth behind the legend==

The story of the Minotaur may have come from the Minoan worship of the bull. Shrines throughout Crete have been uncovered dedicated to the bull, which was to represent strength. Crete was a military nation, the very first maritime military empire in the world.

[[Image:Bulldancelg.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Bulljumping, a popular sport and important sacred ritual in Minoan culture]]
The concept of the sacrificing of youths to bulls may have come from the ancient sport of [[Wikipedia:bulljumping|bulljumping]]. The sport was extremely popular in Minoan culture and much art exists of it that archaeologists at first believed to be some sort of ritualistic sacrifice. In bulljumping, the naked youth ([[male]] or [[female]]) would run at a charging bull and in a display of athletic prowess and courage, grab the bull by the horns and vault over the bull. The mortality rate of this sport was very high, again lending to the legend.

[[Image:Minoanbull.jpg|right|thumb|101px|The Minoan Bull Head, a famous religious artifact. Photo by [[Ken Redtail]]]]
Massive ruins that are believed to be the ruins of Minos' palace have been found at Knossos, but the labyrinth has not. The enormous number of rooms, staircases and corridors in the palace led romantic Victorian archaeologists to believe that the palace itself was the source of the myth, but the absence of creature comforts like bathroom facilities tend to disprove this theory in modern day. It is now often believed to be some sort of temple, similar to [[Wikipedia:Solomon|King Solomon]]'s temple.

Some modern mythologists regard the Minotaur as a solar personification and a Greek adaptation of the Baal-Moloch of the [[Wikipedia:Phoenicia|Phoenicians]]. The slaying of the Minotaur by Theseus in that case indicates the abolition of such sacrifice by the advance of Greek civilization.

A political interpretation has that the Greeks freed themselves from the tributes and the power of Crete.

==Minotaurs in furry and popular culture==
[[Image:Minotaurfursuit.jpg|left|thumb|150px|A minotaur fursuiter]]
Minotaurs as a whole are quite uncommon in the [[furry fandom]]. The concept though of a half-man, half-bull, is one of the earliest examples of [[anthropomorphic]] characters.

Minotaurs feature in some [[fantasy]] [[role-playing game]]s as a race of monsters rather than a unique creature:
* In ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' minotaurs worship the demon lord Baphomet, and whilst they mainly function as mere monsters, in the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting, they are a reasonably civilised and cultured race.
* In [[World of Warcraft]], the [[Tauren]] are essentially a race of minotaurs.
* The card game [[Wikipedia:Magic: the Gathering|Magic: the Gathering]] features minotaurs as being both savage (the Hurloon minotaurs) and tribal yet somewhat cultured (the Talruum).
* In the online game [[Wikipedia:Shadowbane|Shadowbane]], players are able to assume the role of a minotaur, and minotaurs in general form a key role in the backstory and lore and are depicted as a full range, from the savage to the civilized.
* In the online game ''Dark Age of Camelot'', the minotaur was introduced as a playable race as well as a monster in an expansion.
* In the ''Warhammer'' setting, minotaurs are a breed of beastmen chosen by the Chaos Gods to guard their temples. Minotaur champions, known as 'Doom Bulls' also lead armies of beastmen, mortals, and daemons.
* A SciFi Channel original movie depicted the minotaur as a large undead bull monster, a departure of the usual image of the minotaur.
* Ox, the on-stage persona of one of the members of the Finnish band Lordi, is described as being an undead 'man-bull', a reference to the mythical minotaur.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Minotaur characters|Minotaur characters]]

==References==
*Plutarch, ''Theseus,'' 15—19; Diod. Sic. i. I6, iv. 61; Apollodorus iii. 1,15

[[Category:Bovine species]]
[[Category:Mythological species]]
<div style="clear:both">{{wikipedia|Minotaur}}</div>
{{featured article}}

[[ru:Минотавр]]

WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Centaur

Minotaur