CENTAURS:

The centaur is a figure from Greek mythology, half man and half horse.
He is described as having a very difficult character, is usually depicted with a bow.
The figure of the centaur originates sacrilegious love between the king of Lapiths Ixion and a
double of the goddess Hera, Nephele, by which union was born, in fact, Centaur, progenitor of
all the centaurs.The image has been created thanks to the nomadic people who breed animals
including wild horses.Some riders also acquire its own legends, like Chiron, Eurytion, Nessus and
Pholus, becoming later - in modern times and contemporary - typical characters of fantasy
literature, like the gods they too had human feelings but higher than. It is often represented
with hair on fire, mostly armed, especially bow and arrow. Sometimes the goal is a dove, that
other deer, both symbolic representations of the soul, often represented as they are easy prey
dragged away after the catch. But the real mirror of medieval thinking about is represented by
Dante's Divine Comedy, which places the bikers hell-keepers as executioners of the violent
against others, in direct relationship with their violent character was alive.

Sandro Botticelli - "Pallas and the Centaur"

Uffizi Gallery, Florence