Pholus: The Bother of the Great Centaur Chiron
Pholus was an intelligent centaur and a dear friend to Heracles. He lived away from the population in a cave and rarely came out. His personality and origin are very different from the common centaurs.
Here we bring you all the information on this unusual but sophisticated character from Greek mythology.
Pholus
Pholus was a centaur and centaurs are not exactly kind and loving creatures. In Greek mythology, centaurs are the creatures born of Ixion and Nephele. Ixion mistook Nephele for Hera and impregnated her. From there the family breed of centaurs began. These are not fully human and not fully animal-like but somewhere in between.
Their founding father, Ixion, was a beloved king who fell from grace and became an eternal prisoner in Tartarus. He broke his promise to his Father-in-law and killed him in cold blood. He also raped Nephele. This led to his exile.
The centaurs are known to carry that devilish and vile nature of their father and because of this, they are known to be savages. They were never brought into society willingly because they never fit. In Greek mythology, centaurs would be born in many people’s homes as revenge for their deeds from gods, as a punishment, or just as a test of patience and parenthood. Pholus however was not like the other centaurs and this was because of his parents.
Origin of Pholus
Pholus was born to Cronus, the Titan god, and a minor goddess, Philyra. Both of the parents were very esteemed personalities in Greek mythology. Thus their son was unlike any other. Of course, he was a centaur but he was nothing like the other centaurs of the time. The other centaurs while being descendants of Ixion were also the descendants of Centaurus.
Centaurus was the son of Ixion and Nephele. So all the centaurs came down from him except Pholus who was born to a respected god and goddess. Nevertheless, Pholus was a centaur and other centaurs wanted him to join them for his own good. They wanted them to stick together and face the challenges together.
Pholus was not looking to mingle with them as he did not want to disappoint his parents. He chose a different path for himself. He started living in solitude, away from all mankind so that no one would know him and he can live peacefully without any disturbance or interference but this was not the case.
Physical Appearance of Pholus
Pholus was a centaur so naturally, he was half-human and half-horse. He had a torso of a man extending where the neck of a horse should be and vice versa. Centaurs had faced with long ears and hair all over. They had hooves like horses and could run as fast as the horses could.
Generally, the horses were known to be irritated easily, always angry, lustful, wild, and savages. Pholus was none of the above. He was kind, loving, caring, and most of all very respectful to himself and his surroundings. But he couldn’t really show this side to anyone because people still took him as a centaur and were afraid of him.
Pholus and Chiron
Chiron was another centaur before Pholus. He was also unlike the other centaurs. He was smart and intelligent with much regard for one’s feelings and ways of life. He was the wisest and justest of all the centaurs that ever lived. He too was the son of Cronus and Philyra. This means that Chiron and Pholus were siblings but the two had never met.
All his life, Pholus was known to be walking in Chiron’s shoes. They had an unspeakable bond with each other that was only known to them. Chiron was friends with many important characters of Greek mythology. He didn’t live in solitude like Pholus but was very outgoing and famous among the people.
Pholus and Heracles
Pholus was a centaur who lived in solitude then how come he was friends with Heracles? The story behind their friendship is very interesting. Heracles was a soldier on a hunt. He was looking for a specific wine made by Dionysus which he kept in a cave. Heracles stumbled upon a cave and went inside but to his surprise, the cave was the home of Pholus.
Heracles told Pholus the whole story about the wine. Pholus being the kind-hearted centaur offered the Heracles the wine he had found in the cave when he first came here. He offered to cook for him and let him stay the night as well. Heracles agreed but also told him that he feels bad because he has poisonous arrows with him that would instantly kill his kind, the centaurs.
Pholus assured him that it was alright and proceeded to host his first-ever guest in his cave. They talked for hours and hours. They couldn’t tell when the night was over and they both fell asleep. In the morning, Heracles thanked Pholus for his generosity and left the cave.
The Attack of Centaurs On Heracles
Somewhere in the night, some centaur had seen Heracles going into the cave and wanted to kill him as Heracles had killed many of his kind before. The centaurs decided to take their revenge. They waited outside until in the morning when Heracles was leaving, they attacked him.
He defended himself with his arrows and successfully killed the centaurs. It was a bloodbath outside the cave. He was a little injured and wanted help but he could not go to Pholus again as he did not want any more favors from him. So he left.
The Death of Pholus
Pholus went out on his daily stroll to look for fruits on the trees when he came across the massacre. He could imagine what would have happened. He could not leave his fellow centaurs on the ground like that so he decided to give each of them a proper burial. He knew that the arrows inside them were poisonous and would kill him if he came in contact but he didn’t care.
As he was taking the centaurs inside his cave to properly clean the blood off of them, an arrow cut his leg slightly. Pholus knew this was the end of him as his blood had now become poisonous. He lay there taking his last breaths and finally his last breath.
Heracles returned some days later and saw what had happened. He felt so much pain for his friend. He decided to give him a proper public funeral and so he did. This was a very heartfelt gesture from Heracles.
FAQ
What Does A Centaur Symbolize?
The centaurs symbolize unnaturalness and barbarianism. Both are very harsh words to describe a creature but that is what they describe. In some places, it is also said that the centaurs represent the real face of man which is vile and disgustful.
How Do Centaurs and Minotaurs Differ?
The only difference between the centaurs and minotaurs is that while both are half-human, the centaurs are half-horse and the minotaurs are half-bull. That is the only difference between them. Other than they are pretty much alike in characteristics and workings.
What Is a Pholus Planet?
It is an asteroid orbiting around the centaur asteroid group.
Conclusion
Pholus was a centaur but not like the wild, savage, and lustful kind but kind, smart and caring kind. Such centaurs are rare to come by but there he was in all of his glory. He was the brother of the same kind of centaur called Chiron. Here are the main points from the article:
- Pholus was born to Cronus, the Titan god, and a minor goddess, Philyra who were both very esteemed personalities in Greek mythology. Thus their son was unlike any other centaur in mythology.
- Pholus was a centaur so naturally, he was half-human and half-horse. He had a torso of a man extending where the neck of a horse should be and vice versa.
- Chiron and Pholus were siblings and had an unspeakable bond between them
- Heracles was looking for Dionysus’ wine that was in the cave of Pholus. Heracles explained to Pholus what he was looking for and Pholus happily gave him the wine and even offered to cook for him. This is how they both became friends.
- Pholus died when he cut himself mistakenly on a poisoned arrow. Some days later Heracles came to the cave and saw what has happened to his friend. He then gave a proper funeral and burial to Pholus.
Here we come to the end of the article, and now you know all about the famous Pholus the son of the Titan god in Greek mythology.
