The Absence of Chiron

Abstract

E. ASTON THE ABSENCE OF CHIRON THE ABSENCE OF CHIRON From the great complexity of Greek religious thought and practice there emerges a distinct group of cult figures whose unity has been revealed more and more clearly by recent scholarship. These are the heroes whose myths and worship were centred on the phenomenon of the underground chamber. Ustinova in particular has focused on what connects them and gives them coherence as a group. 1 Above all, she brings out two vital features: first, the fact that, despite undergoing some form of miraculous death-experience, the heroes in question do not follow the normal path to the underworld and to the impotence of its inhabitants; second, that instead, they enter the earth and there reside in a combination of death and immortality. In this state they wield special powers concerning prophecy and healing, and mortals consult them for these purposes. Many of these underground heroes were Boeotian and form an important part of the work of Schachter; 2 more lately, however, other geographical areas have claimed attention, among them Thessaly. Among Thessalian adherents to the type are Asclepius, Aristaeus, and Caeneus. 3 This paper examines whether it is justifiable, and valuable, to add another significant name to the Thessalian list: the centaur Chiron. Chiron has strong mythical connections with Asclepius in particular. Like Asclepius, he was conceived in Laceria, by Lake Boibeis. He was Asclepius' tutor, and the relationship does not end there: one myth has Chiron being healed by the hero when wounded and unable to heal himself. 4 This version is late; but even in Pindar Chiron is perceived as potentially having the power to direct Asclepius where his healing skills are needed. 5 It is possible that connections on a cultic, as well as a mythical, level may once have existed between the two healing deities. 6 There are other, deeper aspects of Chiron's divine character that appear on first sight amply to qualify him for inclusion into the group of the underground heroes. The first stage of this article will examine these aspects. Ultimately, however, it will be argued that it would be wrong to consign Chiron to the category of the underground hero without deeper thought; and that we might learn more about his divine persona from the ways in which he diverges from it. 7 349 1 Y. Ustinova, ' "Either a daimon, a hero or perhaps a god:" mythical residents of subterranean chambers',

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“…60.8, p. 262 = Brill's New Jacoby [henceforth BNJ ] 369A F 2). For a discussion of this passage, see for example Mili 2015, 203; Wiznura and Williamson 2020, 91–2; Buxton 1992, 10–11; and Aston 2006, 355–7; 2009, 86, who suggest that the wearing of new fleeces was of symbolic rather than of practical significance.…”