Onocentaur
In its own language: Ὀνοκένταυρος
from Greek onos, donkey, and kentauros, centaur
A Greek legendary being, half person and half donkey
A creature from Greek myth and medieval bestiaries, part human and part donkey, distinct from the four-legged centaur. Old writers describe it as ashen above and pale below, with a person's upper body and a donkey's lower half. Its temper is said to be violent, and it is said to resist being taken captive.
- Named from Greek words for donkey and centaur
- First reported by an officer named Pythagoras under Ptolemy II Philadelphus
- Aelian also uses a feminine form, onokentaura
- The Greek Bible uses onokentauros four times in Isaiah
- Wycliffe's Bible described it as a beast, man above and ass below
What it is
The onocentaur is a hybrid being from Greek storytelling and later medieval animal lore. Where a centaur joins a person to a horse, this creature joins a person to a donkey. Illustrations often give it just two legs, and some show the donkey half with no forelegs at all. A few medieval writers reversed the picture, describing a man's body topped by a donkey's head. Claudius Aelianus, a Roman author who collected tales of animals, gives the fullest early account, and there the being is said to be fierce, hard to hold and quick to anger.
Where it comes from
The oldest record of the onocentaur is linked to an officer called Pythagoras, who served under Ptolemy II Philadelphus. His report reached later readers through Claudius Aelianus, in the work known as De Natura Animalium. Aelian also uses a feminine form, onokentaura, when speaking of the female creature. The name itself is built from Greek words for donkey and centaur. A separate ancient text, the Life of Antony by Athanasius of Alexandria, tells of a beast human down to the thighs with the legs and feet of a donkey, but never uses the word onocentaur. Whether the two descriptions are the same being is left open.
Onocentaur, drawn and placed
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
- Lineage
- Greek mythology
What people believe
In the world of the bestiaries, the onocentaur is one more creature at the edge of the known world, sharing space with satyrs and other mixed beings. Aelian says it can grip and carry things with its arms, and also use them to run, which blurs the line between a person's hands and an animal's gait. Its reported temper is part of its nature: it does not accept capture. Such beings were often used in old texts as markers of wild, distant places rather than as objects of worship.
How scholars and sceptics see it
The onocentaur has drawn attention less for its own sake than for the word's career in translation. In the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, onokentauros appears four times in the Book of Isaiah. Twice it stands for a Hebrew term for island beasts, perhaps jackal or hyena. Once it has no matching Hebrew word. The second use in Isaiah 34:14 renders lîlîṯ, probably a female demon. Jerome's Vulgate kept this choice. John Wycliffe's early English Bible avoided the word and glossed it as a wonderful beast, man above and ass below. The King James Version later chose 'satyr'.
Compare and confuse
The onocentaur is easily confused with the ordinary centaur, and the difference is worth keeping. A centaur is usually shown with four legs, horse below and man above. The onocentaur is commonly given two legs, and its animal half is a donkey, not a horse. Aelian's feminine term onokentaura names the female. In the Bible's Greek text the same word is used for more than one Hebrew term, including a probable female demon, so the creature and the demon are not always kept apart. A related being in old art is the ichthyocentaur, a fish-tailed centaur.
Questions people ask about Onocentaur
What is an onocentaur?
A creature from Greek myth and medieval bestiaries, part human and part donkey. It is usually shown with two legs rather than the four of a centaur, and old accounts say it is bad-tempered and will not accept capture.
Where does it come from?
Greek tradition. The earliest report is credited to an officer called Pythagoras in the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and it reached later readers through Claudius Aelianus in De Natura Animalium.
Why does it appear in the Bible?
The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, used onokentauros four times in Isaiah for Hebrew terms, including one probably meaning a female demon and others perhaps meaning jackal or hyena.
Is it the same as a centaur?
No. A centaur joins a person to a horse and is usually pictured with four legs. The onocentaur joins a person to a donkey and is often shown with two. Some medieval writers even gave it a donkey's head on a man's body.
Good reading and sources
- Onocentaur on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Onocentaur", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryJaadu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Names and customs differ from one community to the next, and some knowledge is closed to outsiders and left out here. This page describes belief and practice. It does not say that any of it works, it is not a how-to, and it is not medical advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-20.
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