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Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Tribes of the centaurs, part 5: the horse-footed

Some medieval bestiaries described centaurs with only two legs instead of four, similar to satyrs.

The hippopodes or ipopodes ("horse-feet") were a race of centaur in Greek and Roman mythology. They had the bodies of humans and the legs of horses. They were believed to live in Scythia.

The hippotaynes or ipotanes ("horse-river") were described by Sir John de Mandeville in his (obviously fictitious) travel journals. They were described as horse/man hybrids that lived part of their live in water and part on land, and noted cannibals.

Conrad Lycosthenes, in his 16th century Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicon, refers to a tribe of marsh-dwelling centaurs he names "apothami" (sometimes misspelled "apotharni"). Unlike the classical Greek centaurs, who were (initially) always male, the apothami population included both genders. The centauresses were described as bald and bearded. They are included here because the artwork depicted them as having only two legs rather than four.

Onocentaurs are sometimes depicted without front legs, as seen in Curious Creatures in Zoology by John Ashton, 1890.

As far as I know, such creatures have never appeared in fantasy gaming. The sutak race from Scarred Lands might be an exception, but they are equine beastfolk without human features.

Sources

  • Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore By Theresa Bane
  • Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth By Carol Rose

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