New Classicists (May 2020)
‘Time and tide for no man wait’: Cheiron’s qualities complicated in John Updike’s The Centaur
Abstract
This article will consider how Cheiron’s personal and divine powers, as described in the ancient texts, are portrayed and developed in John Updike’s novel The Centaur. Cheiron’s qualities equip him to tutor and mentor mythical heroes, and he is particularly famous for his role as tutor to Achilles, as well as his longevity, selflessly given up in exchange for the life of Prometheus. His personal qualities and knowledge command respect from the gods, as well as trust and respect from the parents of young boys. In considering ancient texts such as Hesiod’s Precepts of Cheiron fragments, Pindar’s Pythian Odes IX, this article will chart the various qualities and skills ascribed to Cheiron in the ancient sources, and then map how Updike represents them within his novel, which melds the mythological with the realism of small-town America. Updike’s centaur is frequently conflated with Christ, due to his sacrifice for the good of his son, and yet Cheiron’s other qualities are quietly either presented or subverted to make a particular case for the quiet and more regular nobility of George Caldwell. The article will conclude by considering the intellectual and social landscape of Updike’s novel, why Cheiron is presented in a less heroic way than the ancient sources, and why time is such a central concern to both George Caldwell and his son, Peter.
