Stilbe
nymphA nymph of Thessaly, daughter of the river Peneus, who bore Centaurus and Lapithes to Apollo — thus originating both the Centaurs and the Lapiths.
The Myth
Stilbe was a daughter of the river god Peneus and the nymph Creusa, making her granddaughter of Gaia herself. Her name means 'gleaming' or 'glistening,' suggesting sunlight on water. Apollo came to her, and she bore him twin sons: Lapithes and Centaurus.
Lapithes founded the Lapith tribe, that fierce warrior people of Thessaly. Centaurus was wild and misshapen, and when he mated with the mares of Mount Pelion (in an alternative tradition to the Nephele origin story), he fathered the race of Centaurs. The twins' descendants would meet in the most famous brawl in Greek mythology: the Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs at the wedding of Pirithous, a scene carved into the metopes of the Parthenon itself.
Stilbe, by bearing these twins, became the common ancestor of both sides of one of mythology's defining conflicts — civilisation versus wildness, order versus chaos, human versus beast. The Parthenon's sculptors chose the Centauromachy as one of only four subjects worthy of the building's exterior, and both warring races traced their blood back to the same glistening river nymph.
Children
Lapithes and Centaurus (by Apollo)
Symbols
Explore Further
Creusa
nymphA Naiad nymph of Thessaly who bore Hypseus and Stilbe to the river god Peneus.
Nephele
nymphA cloud nymph shaped by Zeus to resemble Hera, who became the mother of the centaurs.
Apollo
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Battle of Marathon (Myth)
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Battle of Salamis (Myth)
conceptThe 480 BC naval battle where the Greek fleet destroyed the Persian armada in the straits of...
Centaur (Nessus)
creatureNessus was the centaur whose poisoned blood, given as a false love charm, ultimately destroyed the...
Centaur (Pholus)
creaturePholus was a civilised centaur who hosted Heracles on his way to capture the Erymanthian Boar —...
Centauromachy
conceptThe Centauromachy was the famous battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding of...
Centauromachy (Event)
conceptThe battle between Lapiths and Centaurs at the wedding of Pirithous when drunken centaurs tried to...