Centaur
Ringkasan
Centaur adalah makhluk mitologi Yunani setengah manusia setengah kuda, yang melambangkan kebiadaban dan kekacauan, tetapi juga mencakup tokoh bijak seperti Chiron.
A centaur is a half-man, half-horse creature of Greek mythology, representing barbarism and chaos, yet including wise figures such as Chiron.
Kisah dan tradisi
Centaur adalah makhluk mitologi Yunani yang separuh manusia dan separuh kuda. Kepala, lengan, dan tubuh bagian atasnya manusia, menyatu di pinggang dengan tubuh dan kaki kuda. Theoi mencatat bahwa wajahnya seperti manusia biasa atau kadang berhidung pesek dan bertelinga runcing seperti Satyros. Penulis-penulis yang lebih belakangan menyebutnya hippocentaur. Centaur dipercaya hidup di hutan Thessaly, di luar hukum manusia. Menurut Theoi, mereka mendiami gunung dan hutan Magnesia, tinggal di gua, memburu hewan liar, dan bersenjatakan batu serta dahan pohon. Tentang asal-usulnya, satu tradisi menyebut Ixion sebagai leluhur, sedangkan tradisi lain menyebut Kentauros dan kuda-kuda betina Magnesia. Dalam seni Yunani, centaur melambangkan kebiadaban dan kekacauan yang tak terkendali, dan sering tampil pada pahatan arsitektur serta hiasan tembikar. Pertempuran centaur melawan Lapith pada pernikahan Peirithoos adalah tema terkenal, antara lain pada pedimen barat Kuil Zeus di Olympia sekitar 460 SM. Namun tidak semua centaur digambarkan buruk: Chiron dikenal bijaksana dan menjadi guru para pahlawan, sedangkan Pholos menjamu Hercules. Asal kata kentauros tidak jelas. Dalam kajian modern, teori yang paling umum menyatakan bahwa gagasan centaur muncul dari kesan pertama budaya yang tidak berkuda, seperti dunia Minoa di Aegea, terhadap para nomad penunggang kuda. Sejumlah penulis juga memandang centaur sebagai makhluk liminal, antara alam liar dan sosok pengajar seperti Chiron.
The centaur is a creature of Greek mythology that is half man and half horse. Its head, arms, and torso are human, joined at the waist to a horse's body and legs. Theoi records that its face was that of an ordinary man or sometimes had the snub nose and pointed ears of a Satyros. Later writers call it a hippocentaur. In Greek belief centaurs lived in the Thessalian forests, outside human law. According to Theoi, they inhabited the mountains and forests of Magnesia, lived in caves, hunted wild animals, and armed themselves with rocks and tree branches. As for their origin, one tradition names Ixion as the ancestor, while another names Kentauros and the Magnesian mares. In Greek art centaurs represented barbarism and unbridled chaos and often appeared in architectural sculpture and pottery decoration. Their battle with the Lapiths at Peirithoos's wedding is a famous theme, including the sculpture on the west pediment of the Zeus temple at Olympia, dated c. 460 BCE. Not every centaur was portrayed badly, however: Chiron was known for his wisdom and mentored heroes, and Pholos hosted Hercules. The origin of the word kentauros is obscure. In modern scholarship, the most common theory is that the idea of centaurs arose from the first impression that a non-riding culture, such as the Minoan Aegean world, had of mounted nomads. Some writers also treat centaurs as liminal beings, standing between untamed nature and teacher figures such as Chiron.
Konteks budaya
Menurut salah satu sumber, centaur melambangkan kebiadaban dan kekacauan, dan pada pedimen Olympia mereka mewakili pergulatan antara kebiadaban dan peradaban, mungkin secara khusus sebagai metafora kemenangan Yunani atas Persia pada awal abad ke-5 SM.
According to one source, centaurs stood for barbarism and chaos, and on the Olympia pediment they depict the contest between barbarism and civilization, possibly even a metaphor for a Greek victory over Persia in the early 5th century BCE.
Fakta utama
- Budaya / Culture
- Mitologi Yunani
- Kawasan / Region
- Eropa
- Klasifikasi / Classification
- Hybrid
- Habitat
- Forest
Nama lain / Alternate names
Kentauros, Kentauroi, hippocentaur
Tahukah kamu? / Did you know?
Di Thessaly ada tradisi berburu banteng dengan menunggang kuda, dan kata centaur mungkin semula berarti 'pembunuh banteng'.
Thessaly had a tradition of hunting bulls on horseback, and the word centaur may originally have meant 'bull-killer'.