Herakles and Pholus Black figured Hydria 520- 510 BC According to Greek mythology the centaur, Pholus, depicted in the original picture was a friend of Herakles. He lived in a cave in or near Mount Pelion. There is a story, which varies in detail that Herakles went to visit Pholos at his cave. Pholos wouldn’t give Herakles something to drink, until Herakles discovered a flask of wine. So, Pholos let him drink it. Centaurs were to known to be wild- Pholos and a centaur Chiron being milder tempered. The scent of the wine attracted other centaurs that went wild. Herakles used poisoned arrows to kill them and to fend them off. Pholos picked up one of the arrows, amused that something so small can kill something as big as a centaur. He then unfortunately dropped it on his foot, killing him instantly. Sources: http://wiki.astro.com/astrowiki/en/Pholus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholus_(mythology)
