Scroll To Top
Art

Legendary Lovers: Chiron and Achilles

Legendary Lovers: Chiron and Achilles

Achilles_chiron_leadx400

February makes us think of love, and its many forms, so here we offer a valentine to the mentorship romance of Chiron and Achilles.

xtyfr

Amphorax633_0

Chiron wasn't like the other centaurs. He was sensitive. More refined. Educated. He was so highly evolved that his front legs were human. Centaurs tended to run with a racy crowd: other lusty centaurs, satyrs, and fauns. They were basically the frat boys of the ancient world. Fun, but troublesome.

In the amphora pictured above, we see the earlier Greek version of the centaur as he instructs Achilles, who is riding on his back. Chiron indulges his young lover in "horseplay" as Achilles pulls the centaur's beard and feigns a punch in Achilles abs. In later Roman depictions of Chiron and Achilles (below: The Education of Achilles, wall painting, from the basilica in Herculaneum), we're shown the more traditional four equine legs, and ears folded at the top like a satyr.

Chiron_instructs_young_achillesancient_roman_frescox633_0
Chiron was an educator, and he was especially good with boys. He taught them the skills they needed to become men: medicine, music, archery, hunting, and prophecy. And although he was married, his love of his young male students surfaces in many stories, his attachment to Dionysus, for example.

When Achilles was born, his mother Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him -- his heel. His father Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron, on Mt. Pelion, to be reared.

The freewheeling sexuality of the mythological gods and creatures of ancient times has been systematically repressed by Christian-based academics. It seems reasonable to assume that if a shred of homosexuality still lingers after centuries of censorship and rewriting, that perhaps the homosexual story lines were more prevalent, more common.

When Chiron surrendered Achilles as a student and a lover, Achilles went on to have a deeply romantic relationship with his warrior comrade Patroclus. There are conflicting interpretations historically of their relationship, but keep in mind, these are men of myth, so interpretations are moot. But just as there are many paintings and works of art of the beautiful releationship between Chiron and his treasured pupil, there are just as many that show the deep connection between Achilles and Patroclus.

Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus (1855) by the Russian realist Nikolai Ge, below:

Nikolay_ge_death-of-patroclusx633_0
Aeschylus, Plato, Shakespeare, and of course Mary Renault have all presented Patroclus and Achilles as lovers. The death of Patroclus is a complex and beautiful story and underpins a great deal of Achilles' actions and emotions toward the Trojan war in Homer's The Iliad.

On the following pages, find more historic representations of Achilles and Chiron.

Benigne-gagnerauxx633_0

Benigne Gagneraux

Eugene_ferdinand_victor_delacroix_x633_0
Eugene Ferdinand Victor Delacroix, 1845

Jean-baptiste-regnault-the-education-of-achilles-1782x633_0

Jean Baptiste Regnault, The Education of Achilles, 1782

Pompeo Batoni, 1746

The-education-of-achilles-james-barryx633_0

James Barry, The Education of Achilles

Bertel-thorvaldsen-chiron-teaching-achilles-to-shoot-with-the-bow-1811x633_0

Bertel Thorvaldsen, Chiron Teaching Achilles to Shoot with the Bow, 1811


Donato Creti, The Education of Achilles, 1714

Greek-vase-paintingx633_0
Greek vase painting

The-education-of-achilles-by-chiron
The Education of Achilles by Chiron, 18th.century

Four_horses_chiron_and_achilles_thorvaldsens_museumx633_0
Chiron and Achilles, Thorvaldsens Museum

Willy-pogany-published-1918x633_0
Willy Pogany, 1918

Toussaint-dubreuil-the-education-of-achilles-16th-centuryx633_0

Toussaint Dubreuil, The Education of Achilles, 16th century

Johannes-riepenhausen-franz-riepenhausen-chiron-teaching-achilles-to-play-the-lyre-after-1800x633_0
Johannes Riepenhausen, Franz Riepenhausen, Chiron Teaching Achilles to Play the Lyre, after 1800


Giovanni Battista Cipriani, L'education d'Achille. Below a variation by the same artist.

Battista-cipriani_rearxsmall_0

Pompeo-batoni-thetis-confiding-the-education-of-achilles-to-the-centaur-chiron-1760x633_0
Pompeo Batoni, Thetis Confiding the Education of Achilles to the Centaur Chiron, 1760

Batoni_pompeo_thetis_takes_achilles_from_the_centaur_chironx633_0
Pompeo Batoni, Thetis Takes Achilles from the Centaur Chiron, 1760

The two paintings above show Achilles as he meets the Cetaur Chiron for the first time (top) and as the wistful Chiron surrenders his young charge, now a young man, to his mother's care -- as well as that of some comely young nymphs and serpent men --after his education.

xtyfr
30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Christopher Harrity

Christopher Harrity is the Manager of Online Production for Here Media, parent company to The Advocate and Out. He enjoys assembling online features on artists and photographers, and you can often find him poring over the mouldering archives of the magazines.
Christopher Harrity is the Manager of Online Production for Here Media, parent company to The Advocate and Out. He enjoys assembling online features on artists and photographers, and you can often find him poring over the mouldering archives of the magazines.