The Myth Of Chiron, The Healer

The myth of Chiron, unlike other myths, tells us of a wise, noble and skillful centaur, very different from other centaurs. Recall that in Greek mythology, centaurs were creatures with a human head and torso and the body of a horse. In general, they were impulsive and basically wild beings.

The Chiron myth is said to be closely related to the professions of physician and psychologist. In fact, the word “Chiron” etymologically means ‘skilled with the hands’ or ‘the one who heals with the hands’. The word operating room is derived from this character.

However, it is also known as “the wounded centaur”, a symbol of someone who knows how to give help, but also ask for it at the right time. In the myth of Chiron there is much of the human. Emphasizes the importance of mutual recognition of vulnerabilities as a source of compassion.

The myth of Chiron

The myth of Chiron tells that the history of this character began when the titan Cronos, son of Uranus, came to earth to search for Zeus. In his development, he met an oceanic named Filiria. Cronos fell obsessively in love with her and began to besiege her in an exaggerated way.

Desperate for this harassment, Filiria asked Zeus to turn her into a mare so that the annoying titan would leave her alone. However, Cronos  discovered the cunning of the oceanid and turned himself into a horse to possess it. Tormented by the situation, Filiria escapes and goes to the Pelasgian mountains.

In that remote place she gave birth to her son. It is said that as soon as she saw him, she gave a cry of horror when she saw the strange being that had been born after a tortuous childbirth. He was a half-man, half-horse creature and she rejected him immediately. So again she went to Zeus to make her into a tree and thus not have to breastfeed her child. Zeus pleased her and turned her into a linden tree.

A noble centaur

Chiron was abandoned next to a tree, but the god Apollo  and Athena took pity on him and adopted him. Under his guidance, he grew up as a kind and wise being, interested in different arts, but especially in medicine. It filled him with joy to provide relief to those who suffered and spiritual strength to those who would die. He was very skilled in the arts of healing and soon became famous. Many asked for his help and advice.

Chiron is said to have saved a hero named Peleus. The latter had received a gift from Hephaestus, god of fire: a wonderful sword. Then he seduced the wife of a man known as Acasto and he set a trap for revenge. It led him, by trickery, to a supposed hunt. When they were away, he stole his sword and left him at the mercy of the centaurs, who were generally savages.

Chiron managed to save him and from then on they were great friends. Peleo had a son named Achilles. His mother, Thetis, burned his entire body and then covered it with ambrosia, believing that this would make him immortal. Annoyed by this ritual, Peleo snatched the son from Thetis without waiting for her to cover her heel with that elixir.

He then handed it over to Chiron for him to educate him. The centaur noticed that the boy’s heel was burned and the first thing he did was take a giant’s heel bone and put it in the place of the wound. Thus was born the famous “Achilles heel”.

A wounded centaur

The myth of Chiron says that on one occasion he was accidentally wounded by Hercules, or Heracles, who was one of his great friends. The hero was fighting with other centaurs and inadvertently shot one of his arrows at him, wounding him in one of his legs; more precisely, in the knee area.

The centaur began to writhe in pain; however, he had been given immortality. Therefore, he could suffer, but not die. The wound never healed and it never stopped hurting. This caused him to beg the gods for the opportunity to give up his immortality, in order to die and escape from so much suffering.

The gods listened to him and the myth of Chiron tells that he finally yielded immortality to Prometheus, a titan who was saved from suffering thanks to this significant gift. Because of his goodness and his exemplary life, the divinities decided to turn him into a constellation, so that he would shine forever in the sky.