The Centaur's Smile

Book excerpt: Human animals - centaurs, satyrs, sphinxes, sirens and Gorgons - as well as other composite beings like Pan, Triton, Acheloos, and the Minotaur, are extremely common in Greek myth, literature, theater, and the visual arts. Understanding the phenomenon of combining human and animal elements into composite creatures is central to our knowledge of the Greek imagination. This book discusses the oriental antecedents of these fantastic creatures, examining the influence of Egyptian and Near Eastern models on the formation of Greek monsters in the Geometric and Archaic periods. Fully illustrated essays explore the nature and origin of horse men (centuars and satyrs) and the broader range of Greek composite creatures, discussing their evolving forms and changing roles during this seminal period of Greek art.