The Centaur Cheiron is the most famous of the Centaurs. Son of Cronus and Oceanid Philyra and teacher of many famous mythological heroes. He is the first to use herbs to treat illnesses and injuries.
According to the myth Cheiron belonged to that unique race of Centaurs, who had a divine origin and unlike other Centaurs were wise, fair, kind-hearted and friends and supporters of people. The Greeks narrated that Saturn, the father of Zeus, fell passionate in love with the beautiful Oceanis Phylira. The poor, fearing the wrath of his wife Rhea, tried to ward off Saturn. The Almighty God continued to besiege the object of his desire. Then Saturn was transformed into a proud steed, and the nymph enchanted by the beauty of the steed approached and caressed it. Centaur Cheiron was born from this union.

According to another version, Rhea, who had understood the intentions of her husband watched his movements. She chased the couple and arrested them while they lived their love. Saturn, who wanted to fool the furious Rhea, took the form of a horse, while Phylira, pursued by the envious Rhea, fled in Mount Pelion. There she gave birth to a child. Some narrated that the unlucky nymph, trying to escape the vengeful wrath of the goddess, transformed into the namesake tree.

Cheiron was raised in Pelion and soon the reputation for wisdom, knowledge and virtue spread throughout Greece. Young people from all parts of the country were studying with him and shared the wealth of heart and spirit. He taught medicine, music, martial arts and hunting. He used herbal remedies with which he healed the sick and wounded.

He married the beautiful nymph Chariklo and had with her a daughter, Okyrroi, who was clairvoyant. Many famous mythological heroes were raised near him and tutored. One of them was the God Asclepius, son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis or according to an other theory, the daughter of the king of Messenia Arsinoe. From Cheiron, Asclepius learned the art of medicine and the use of herbs.

Disciple was also Jason, son of Aeson. When Pelias stole the throne from Aeson, the second fearing for the fate of the newborn Jason, spread the word that the child was born dead and secretly transferred him to the cave of Cheiron in Pelion. There, Jason was raised with the company of Phylira, Chariklo and Okyrroi until he became twenty years old. Cheiron taught him the military art and he was an excellent, bold and brave warrior. According to the legend, even Actaios and the Dioscouri tutored near Cheiron.

The Greeks narrated that Actaios was taught by the wise teacher, the art of hunting. He became an excellent hunter and spent his days in the forests. Fate, however hid a tragic end to the beautiful, brave and fearless young man.

One day Actaios was hunting in the evergreen forests of Pelion, near the fountain Parthenios. There he saw the Great Goddess Artemis bathing naked in the company of the Nymphs. Her beauty dazzled the young person, who remained in place ecstatic. When the Virgin Goddess saw him she became furious with anger, and her curse and rage fell heavily on the unfortunate young man. Actaios transformed into a deer, which was eaten up by his own dogs. The dogs cried frantically, arriving at the cave of Cheiron, seeking their master. Cheiron, sad for the unfair loss, made a statue of Aktaios and that settled down the dogs.

The manner in which Cheiron raised the legendary hero Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, is indicated in the poem by Hesiod, “Cheiron Commitment “

Cheiron was associated with old friendship with Peleus. It was he who advised him how to win the love of proud Thetis. To their weddings Cheiron even gave him a miraculous spear that was able to heal the wounds caused.

When Thetis left Peleus, he entrusted the upbringing of his son Achilles to the wise Centaur. The two legendary heroes were associated with a relationship of love, friendship and respect of one another. Cheiron fed the young man with "entrails of lions and boars and bears marrow". That is why Achilles was fearless and invincible. He gave all his wisdom and knowledge and taught him all the arts.

Alas, the end of this all-wise and virtuous Centaur was tragic. According to legend, when the Lapiths, with the help of Theseus, drove the Centaurs from Pelion, Cheiron came to Malea, where he settled.

When later the demigod Herakles chased the Centaurs of Foloi, they sought protection in the cave of Cheiron. During the terrible scuffle, one of the poisonous arrows of Heracles pierced the arm of Centaur Elatos and pinned the knee of Cheiron. The wound was deep and bled. The pain was unbearable. In vain the Centaur tried with herbs to heal the wound, to sweeten the pain. Neither the efforts of Hercules, nor the bitter tears of the young student Achilles, were able to ease up the pain that was streaking through the bowels of Cheiron and conquered his thoughts. The immortality his father Cronus had given him, was now useless. The promise of a life of immortality, with a body defeated by the illness and subdued by pain, frightened him. He asked the Gods to spare him the pain. He chose to trade his immortality with a redemptive death and the Gods heeded his request. The immortality of Cheiron transferred to Prometheus, who took the place of the Centaur in Mount Olympus. After the death of Cheiron, Zeus placed him in Uranos (the sky), transforming him into the constellation of Sagittarius.