Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Amycus or Amykos (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Ἄμυκος) was a male centaur and the son of

Ophion In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion (; grc-gre, Ὀφίων "serpent"; ''gen''.: Ὀφίωνος), also called Ophioneus () ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea. Mythology Pherecydes of ...

Mythology

There is not much known about Amycus, but he is said to have been involved in the Centauromachy, a battle between the centaurs and the

Lapith The Lapiths (; grc, Λαπίθαι) are a group of legendary people in Greek mythology, whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion. Mythology Origin The Lapiths were an Aeolian tribe who, like the Myr ...

people; this battle is what the centaurs are best known for. The battle took place during the wedding of the King of the Lapithae,

Pirithous Pirithous (; grc-gre, Πειρίθοος or , derived from ; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus. Biography Pirithous was a son of "h ...

, and his wife Hippodamia. Amycus' involvement in this battle is recognized in the ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'', written by the Roman poet

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. In this work, it is noted that Amycus, along with many other centaurs, was invited to and attended the wedding that turned into a bloody

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The centaurs become drunk on wine and attempted to take Hippodamia, along with other Lapith women, as they pleased. Eurytus, a centaur, could not control himself when the bride, Hippodamia, was presented; he attempted to kidnap and rape her. He inspired all the drunken centaurs to attack and violate the Lapith women.

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

, a friend of Pirithous, stopped the centaur Eurytus, ultimately killing him resulting in the first blood of the battle. Amycus's role in this battle is of great importance; he was responsible for the first death of one of the Lapith people. Driven with anger due to the death of the loved centaur Eurytus, Amycus smashed the head of innocent Lapith

Celadon ''Celadon'' () is a term for pottery denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that wa ...

with a candlestick. Pelates from Pella clubbed him to death using a leg from a maple table, sending Amycus down to the underworld

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

. These were the first deaths of the battle between the centaurs and the Lapith people. The Lapiths ultimately defeated the centaurs and drove them from Thessaly to the northwest. The Centauromachy is a well known

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

. Two of the most famously portrayed artworks are in the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

metopes by

Phidias Phidias or Pheidias (; grc, Φειδίας, ''Pheidias''; 480 – 430 BC) was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the stat ...

and in a Renaissance-era sculpture by Michelangelo.

Namesake

55576 Amycus 55576 Amycus is a centaur discovered on 8 April 2002 by the NEAT at Palomar. The minor planet was named for Amycus, a male centaur in Greek mythology. It came to perihelion in February 2003. Data from the Spitzer Space Telescope gave a diamet ...

is a

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...

named after Amycus the centaur.

Notes

References

* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''

'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amycus (Centaur) Centaurs Metamorphoses characters Characters in Greek mythology