Onocentaur

Onocentaur from Curious Creatures in Zoology by John Ashton, 1890.

Onocentaur from Curious Creatures in Zoology by John Ashton, 1890.

Onocentaur (Latin: onocentaurus, from Ancient Greek: Ονοκένταυροι - Onokéntauroi) is an animal from Medieval bestiaries.

Description

The onocentaur is similar to the centaur, but part human, part donkey. As with many liminal beings, the onocentaur's nature is one of conflict between its human and animal components.[1]

The first mention by Pythagoras was in the time of rule of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, as quoted by Claudius Aelianus in De Natura Animalium. Aelian as well uses the term onokentaura for description of the female form.[2] He interpreted the onocentaur as: "its body resembles that of an ass, its colour is ashen but inclines to white beneath the flanks. It has a human chest with teats and a human face surrounded by thick hair. It may use its arms to seize and hold things but also to run. It has a violent temper and does not endure capture."[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Onocentaur". The Medieval Bestiary. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  2. ↑ P. G. P. Meyboom (1994). "The Onokentaura". The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina: Early Evidence of Egyptian Religion in Italy. Leiden; New York: Brill. pp. 111–114. ISBN 90-04-10137-3.
  3. ↑ Aelian. NA VII 9; Ch. III, n. 6.

External links

Look up onocentaur in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


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