The time is finally upon us—the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and The Olympians are available to stream on Disney+ and everyone is falling head over heels back in their Percy Jackson phase. Not that it had ever really left, to be honest, but now it’s all front and center again and I personally could not be happier.
After picking apart all the promotional material down to its very core—most of which was set to a truly inspired epic cover of Vance Joy’s “Riptide” and I still can’t get over how perfect of a musical choice it was—we can finally step right into the world of Percy, Annabeth and all the other characters who inhabit Camp Half-Blood.
Out of these characters, one of the most important ones is undoubtedly Chiron, who is portrayed in the show by actor Glynn Turman. So, let’s freshen up on who Chiron is, both in the myth and in the Percy Jackson world. Watch out for spoilers for the events of the first book, The Lightning Thief, ahead—which means spoilers for the show’s first season, as well.
Who is Chiron in Greek mythology?
Chiron is a pretty important figure in Greek mythology, one that returns time and time again throughout the various myths and whose lineage is interconnected to that of many other gods and titans. The son of Cronus, the leader of the Titans, and Philyra, one of the Oceanid nymphs, Chiron is very famously a centaur, so a creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse—even though, in Greek depictions, his two front legs are still human, something that sets him apart from the rest of the centaurs in the mythos.
Chiron’s disposition also makes him stand out from his fellow centaurs, since he’s much more temperate and learned, while centaurs are usually described as being violent and uncultured. Precisely because Chiron was considered “the wisest among centaurs,” he took on the role of teacher to a good chunk of Greek demigods and heroes, like Jason of Argonauts fame; Asclepius, the god of doctors; and Actaeon, who would end up getting turned into a stag by Artemis, after accidentally seeing her bathing, and hunted by his own hounds.
Of course, there’s also the one who might be the most famous—especially among the wider public—of Chiron’s pupils, and that’s none other than Achilles, although not all sources agree on whether or not Patroclus was with him during his studies with Chiron.
Who is Chiron in Percy Jackson?
Chiron’s adaptation into the worldbuilding of the Percy Jackson series remains overall faithful to his original role in the myth, which is something that usually holds true for the entirety of Riordan’s work.
In the book series and all its adaptations, including Disney’s new show, Chiron is the activities director at Camp Half-Blood, where all demigods train to develop their powers while being kept safe from the monsters that are always on the hunt for them. For a brief time, he also posed as Mr. Brunner, a Latin teacher at Yancy Academy—the school Percy attends before discovering his godly parentage.
The book explains his survival—when, in the myth, he dies after getting hit by a poisonous arrow shot by Heracles—by saying that Zeus granted him immortality, even after such a major injury, so that he could continue his work of teaching heroes, which is what Chiron has been doing over the centuries and will continue to do with Percy and the rest of the demigods at Camp Half-Blood.
Every good hero story needs a mentor, after all, someone wiser who knows the world the main character has been plunged into and explains it to them while offering steady, solid support. That’s exactly what Chiron does, especially after Percy has just arrived at Camp Half-Blood—and we saw it happen in the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and The Olympians.
Glynn Turman’s Chiron takes Percy on a tour of Camp Half-Blood—after having kept an eye on him for some time at Yancy Academy—and then introduces him to the kids of the Hermes Cabin, which is where all unclaimed demigods can find refuge. Personally, though, my favorite moment has got to be when he’s not in his actual centaur form but when he tries to comfort Percy immediately after his expulsion—his entire speech in one giant double entendre for those who are already familiar with the story and this world. There truly is no better feeling.
(featured image: Disney+)
