This article examines an area of Thessalian mythology and cult surrounding the figures of Thetis the Nereid and Cheiron the centaur. It argues that the pair derive a substantial amount of their characterisation, in ancient narratives, from their mutual association, and that only by studying them together can we receive a full insight into their mythological and religious personae. Thetis and Cheiron are shown to differ significantly with regard to a number of themes, such as their relationship with symbolic topography and the natural landscape of Thessaly and -most strikingly -their kourotrophic roles. Thetis' strong association with ambiguous nurture is argued to connect with her physical conception, especially her association with the shape changing sepia, cuttlefish, an association which involves her in the wider ancient discourse of unreliable female beauty. It is also shown that the Thetis of Homeric epic is significantly different from the Thetis found in other ancient narratives.Résumé : Cet article étudie une partie de la mythologie et du culte thessaliens autour des figures de la Néréide Thétis et du centaure Chiron. Il montre qu'une part importante de leur caractéristiques, dans les récits anciens, provient de leur association et que c'est seulement en les étudiant ensemble qu'on prend la pleine mesure de leur dimension mythologique et religieuse. Thétis et Chiron présentent des différences substantielles sur un certain nombre de plans, tels que leur relation à la topographie symbolique et au paysage naturel de la Thessalie, et, de manière plus surprenante, leur rôle de courotrophes. L'association étroite entre Thétis et l'ambiguïté du nourrissage est mise en relation avec sa constitution physique et avec le sepia protiforme, le poulpe. Cette dernière association l'insère dans un ample discours ancien sur la duplicité de la beauté féminine. En outre, la Thétis de l'épopée homérique est fort différente de la Thétis que l'on trouve dans les autres récits anciens.

The narrative of Pausanias offers a very unusual insight into the cults which existed at the time of his travels, c. A.D. 150. Nothing is abstract. Every god and every myth is firmly linked to the physical place in which the traveller encountered them; and though comparison is sometimes made by the author, what we are presented with is a series of regional specialities. 1 It is therefore unsurprising that in Book 2, when Pausanias is describing Epidaurus, his attention falls on Asclepius; nor that he describes in great detail the precise nature of the god's connection to that place. However, there are two factors which suggest that this episode should not simply be taken for granted as typical of the travelnarrative. The first is that the treatment which Asclepius receives in the account is quite distinct from the way in which Pausanias describes the other gods whose cultsites he encounters. The second is that a substantial quantity of evidence suggests that this emphasis on tying Asclepius to a location is not simply a feature of Pausanias' project, but rather that, in this case, the author was reflecting an important characteristic of the god and his cult in antiquity. The exploration of that characteristic, the special relationship between Asclepius and location, is the first purpose of this paper; the second is to suggest that it was an influential legacy of the pre-existing form of the cult in Thessaly. τλµθπιο δ εσ1ξ ν0µιτυα ε ξαι υ ξ η ξ π µ η τφνβ βθλε υοι δε With this programmatic opening (2.26.3), Pausanias introduces into his description of Epidaurus a lengthy excursus about that place's claim on the god. The nature of the µ ηοΚ in the quotation above soon becomes clear: Epidaurus is 'especially sacred to Asclepius' because, according to a myth which Pausanias relates, he was born there. But Pausanias does not let the matter rest there. He presents, in all, three different stories about the parentage of Asclepius-keeping, of course, the indispensable identity of the father, Apollo-and in the course of the description makes clear his preference for the one which connects Asclepius with Epidaurus. He is especially critical of the story which makes Asclepius the son of Arsinoë, for the obvious reason that if Asclepius was the son of Arsinoë, he would thus have been a Messenian rather than an Epidaurian. It is clear that the debate which is conducted in his account reflected a debate which existed outside it, in the centres of the Asclepius cult, and most notably in Epidaurus. The sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus seems to have been established no earlier than the sixth century B.C., 2 and there is no doubt that the intense debate which Pausanias, centuries later, reflects must have been greatly fuelled-though not

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E. ASTON THE ABSENCE OF CHIRON THE ABSENCE OF CHIRON From the great complexity of Greek religious thought and practice there emerges a distinct group of cult figures whose unity has been revealed more and more clearly by recent scholarship. These are the heroes whose myths and worship were centred on the phenomenon of the underground chamber. Ustinova in particular has focused on what connects them and gives them coherence as a group. 1 Above all, she brings out two vital features: first, the fact that, despite undergoing some form of miraculous death-experience, the heroes in question do not follow the normal path to the underworld and to the impotence of its inhabitants; second, that instead, they enter the earth and there reside in a combination of death and immortality. In this state they wield special powers concerning prophecy and healing, and mortals consult them for these purposes. Many of these underground heroes were Boeotian and form an important part of the work of Schachter; 2 more lately, however, other geographical areas have claimed attention, among them Thessaly. Among Thessalian adherents to the type are Asclepius, Aristaeus, and Caeneus. 3 This paper examines whether it is justifiable, and valuable, to add another significant name to the Thessalian list: the centaur Chiron. Chiron has strong mythical connections with Asclepius in particular. Like Asclepius, he was conceived in Laceria, by Lake Boibeis. He was Asclepius' tutor, and the relationship does not end there: one myth has Chiron being healed by the hero when wounded and unable to heal himself. 4 This version is late; but even in Pindar Chiron is perceived as potentially having the power to direct Asclepius where his healing skills are needed. 5 It is possible that connections on a cultic, as well as a mythical, level may once have existed between the two healing deities. 6 There are other, deeper aspects of Chiron's divine character that appear on first sight amply to qualify him for inclusion into the group of the underground heroes. The first stage of this article will examine these aspects. Ultimately, however, it will be argued that it would be wrong to consign Chiron to the category of the underground hero without deeper thought; and that we might learn more about his divine persona from the ways in which he diverges from it. 7 349 1 Y. Ustinova, ' "Either a daimon, a hero or perhaps a god:" mythical residents of subterranean chambers',