#cheiron

Live! I beg of you, do not leave me my dear father!

(translation by me)

Achilles to Cheiron (Ovid, Fasti)

Honestly this part of Ovid kinda proves my good old post of Achilles having some serious abandonment issues!

According to Ovid's work, Achilles actually met Heracles and the death of Cheiron was arguably one of the first if not the first that he witnessed. In this passage Heracles was showing Cheiron his arrows but Cheiron accidentally dropped one on his foot and got poisoned by it. Achilles arrived to the scene and rushed to his master, crying woefully "as if he were Peleus himself" as per Ovid's words!

Achilles stood before his master/father, crying woefully; he was crying as if he was standing before Peleus himself

(free translation by me)

So imagine that Cheiron gets hurt and Achilles rushes to the scene, sees Peleus hurt and immediately rushes to his side, crying! A very tender scene is also that he is holding his hands tenderly! While calling for him not to die!

He was holding those feeble hands in his own loving ones (the teacher had received the result of the personality he had molded). He was kissing him and he was telling him woefully "live! I beg of you do not leave me, my dear father!" nine days had passed and so you, just Cheiron, you elevated with the body of the twice seven stars

(free translation by me)

Like...I wanna cry! How tender little Achilles is with his master in this version given by Ovid! Like I ain't sure how can literally anyone fit it within the whole epic cycle narrative given the situation but I just thought the mention deserved to be made!

Game and hounds are the invention of gods, of Apollo and Artemis. They bestowed it on Cheiron and honoured him therewith for his righteousness. And he, receiving it, rejoiced in the gift, and used it. And he had for pupils in venery and in other noble pursuits — Cephalus, Asclepius, Meilanion, Nestor, Amphiaraus, Peleus, Telamon, Meleager, Theseus, Hippolytus, Palamedes, Odysseus, Menestheus, Diomedes, Castor, Polydeuces, Machaon, Podaleirius, Antilochus, Aeneas, Achilles, of whom each in his time was honoured by gods.

No idea really, I don't remember if such a thing is ever touched upon. In Hyginus' Fabulae Philyra is transformed by Zeus into a tree (at her request) after she saw the kind of child she gave birth to, but there's no way to say for sure if Zeus was aware of her relation with Kronos and of the fact that Chiron is his brother. But then, Philyra in other sources still seems to be a person long after Chiron's birth, such as in Pindar's Pythian 4.

Chīrōn / Χείρων

Chiron

Happy Birthday Nathaniel Lees!

July 20, 1952