Centaurs and Lapiths in the Landscape of Thessaly

Lapiths and Centaurs are famous figures of Greek myth in both its literary and its artistic representation. However, what is rarely discussed is the localization of their conflict in the landscapes of Thessaly, in northern Greece. This chapter restores the Thessalian dimension, in two ways: first, by examining the landscape of Thessaly as a setting, and second, by reconstructing the involvement of certain of the region’s communities in the formation and development of the myths. It is argued that these communities should be regarded as active participants in myth-making rather than just the backgrounds onto which the myths were projected by non-Thessalians. The ultimate aim, however, is not to identify this local perspective as an isolated one, separate from the literary and artistic traditions by which Lapiths and Centaurs are chiefly known; instead, Thessalian voices feed into, and respond to, the wider myth-making processes of the ancient Greek world.