Lapiths

This article is about the mythical tribe. For the eponymous hero, see Lapithes (hero).
Metope from the Elgin Marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting.

The Lapiths (/ˈlæpɪθs/; Ancient Greek: Λαπίθαι, Lapithai, sing. Λαπίθης) were a group of legendary people in Greek mythology, who lived in Thessaly in the valley of the Pineios[1] and on the mountain Pelion. They were believed to have descended from the mythical Lapithes, brother of Centaurus, with the two heroes giving their names to the races of the Lapiths and the Centaurs respectively. The Lapiths are best known for their involvement in the Centauromachy (Greek: Κενταυρομαχία, translit. Kentauromachía), a mythical fight that broke out between them and the Centaurs during Pirithous and Hippodamia's wedding.

  1. ^ Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica. iv.69.2. Lapithes made his home about the Peneius river