Chiron

"HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

- Chiron to the centaurs in

Chiron (Χείρωνας Κένταυρος in Ancient Greek ) is the activities director at Camp Half-Blood. He is a centaur (a brown stallion from the waist down) and the immortal trainer of demigods. Although he is said to be immortal, he is not because he had given his immortality to the Titan Prometheus. The gods granted his wish; that he could teach half-bloods until he was no longer needed (so he won't die unless he stops training demigods). He is the son of Kronos. The prophecy involving the 16-year-old demigod who will decide the fate of Olympus is known to him. Chiron is also known as Mr. Brunner, a wheelchair-bound Latin teacher, because he went undercover to one of Percy Jackson's schools (Yancy Academy) to teach Percy. In Greek Mythology, Chiron taught many of the famous heroes such as Achilles, Hercules, and others. He is like a second father to Annabeth Chase, who has lived at camp longer than anyone, and he is also fatherly towards Percy. It can be assumed that many campers see him in this way. He is portrayed by Pierce Brosnan in the The Lightning Thief (film).

History
Chiron was sired by Kronos, who was in the form of a horse at the time. His mother, Philyra abandoned him at birth because of her disgust at his appearance. Chiron is not a true centaur, as centaurs are notorious for being overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents, each centaur was also wild and lusty. Chiron, by contrast, was intelligent, civilized and kind. Also, true centaurs are born of sun and cloud (Ixion and Nephele), and are not immortal but Chiron gained his immortality from the gods.

Throughout the Greek age, Chiron was the only immortal centaur and was known for his exceptional wisdom and also known as the teacher of heroes, including Asclepius, Aristaeus, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon, Caeneus, Theseus, Achilles , Jason, Peleus, Telamon, Heracles , Oileus, and Phoenix and many other demigods. He supposedly died, after giving his immortality to another, and then was shot with an arrow. This account is false, as Chiron lived to Percy Jackson's time. This is because he was given immortality by Zeus so he will stay alive as long as he is needed to teach heroes. In the old myths Chiron was also supposedly killed.

The Lightning Thief
In The Lightning Thief he posed as Percy's Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner. He used an enchanted wheelchair to hide his backside and used fake legs. In the museum, he saves Percy from being killed by the Fury Alecto by throwing him Riptide, a sword disguised as a ballpoint pen. He later pretends it didn't happen, with the hopes that Percy won't notice. However, Percy isn't very convinced.

Percy looks up to him, and is very upset when he thinks 'Mr. Brunner' is disappointed in him. Later, it is revealed when Percy eavesdrops on a conversation between his teacher and Grover that 'Mr. Brunner' is worried about Percy's safety and whether he is prepared or not, and does not want to get him involved yet.That however proves to be impossible. Chiron meets Percy again on the balcony of the Big house when Percy wakes up, after he was attacked by the Minotaur. Chiron is worried about Percy, and cares for him. He tries to train Percy as much as possible, and hopes that Percy is the son of a lesser god (for Percy's own safety), though he suspects that his father is indeed Poseidon. When he is forced to send Percy on his quest, he laments that he was unable to train him further.

The Sea of Monsters
In The Sea of Monsters, he is blamed for poisoning Thalia's tree and the camp's borders since he is the son of Kronos, and Tantalus took over as Activities Director. Percy and Annabeth (Annabeth especially) are furious that he is untrusted, and they do not know why Chiron is suspected, as they don't know about Kronos being his father. Before he leaves, he meets Tyson, Percy's half-brother, and Tyson takes a liking to him, calling him "pony" which Chiron finds offensive. Annabeth cries when Chiron leaves, and Percy feels like crying, though he won't let himself.

Percy is desperate to bring back Chiron and get rid of the evil, twisted Tantalus, and succeeds, by starting an Iris Message behind Luke, and getting Luke to admit he had poisoned Thalia's tree. Tantalus is then banished back to the Underworld (just as he managed to grab a cheeseburger) and Chiron and the rest of his species save Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson from Luke and his goons.

Later, Chiron comforts Percy in his mission, and reveals his parentage when Percy says he is still confused about why the Council would suspect him. After Thalia is expelled from the tree, Chiron is afraid for her, and Percy.Because now there were two possible pawns for his father Kronos to use.

Although he wasn't training heroes in his break, it seems to be explained as he was still needed, even though he wasn't training.

The Titan's Curse
In The Titan's Curse, Chiron tries to comfort Percy after Annabeth is kidnapped. He later arranges a friendly Capture the Flag game between the Campers and the Hunters. After Thalia and Percy get into a fight, Chiron breaks them up, and is amazed by seeing the Oracle coming out of the Big House and delivering a prophecy to Zoë. Later, when Percy is excluded from the rescue group, Chiron tries to comfort him, but Percy doesn't want to be comforted, it makes things worse. Chiron deeply cares about Annabeth, they are even closer to each other then Annabeth is to her actual father, and he is sure that the group will find her.

Later, after Percy realizes that Nico is the son of Hades, he hides that from Chiron, afraid of what he will do. When Percy asks about mortals that see through the Mist, Chiron informs him that some mortals are special, and can do that, including Percy's mother Sally. Percy asked because of his encounter with Rachel.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Chiron is slightly distrustful of Quintus, and he talks about it with Percy. He later talks about the Labyrinth with Percy and Annabeth, and the entrance that is within the boundaries of the Camp, and assigns the quest to Annabeth. Annabeth is very nervous. Clarisse had been first asked to go back, but hotly refused, saying 'she would never go back to that place again'.

Chiron later speaks battle statistics with the Campers, and says that he knows where Percy was when he was missing (Calypso's Island). He was very heart-broken when Percy had been missing, and was relieved to see him again. He fights in the battle against Luke's forces, and they win, with the help of Grover. However, he was injured and required medical attention.

The Last Olympian
In The Last Olympian, Chiron tells Percy of what happened with Typhon and is very worried for the fate of Olympus. He organizes the teams for battle, and fails at convincing Clarisse to fight with them. He then sends out to see if the centaurs will fight for them. The centaurs agree, and the "Party Ponies" help defend Manhattan. He later fights in battle against his father, and there is a confrontation between the two, and was called 'that weakling son of mine' by Kronos. Chiron is thrown against a wall and covered with rocks, and dug out by Mrs. O'Leary. He is injured, but manages to make it to camp, where Rachel receives the Spirit of Delphi. He is in the audience that hears the next great prophecy, and comforts Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel that it may be decades before the fulfillment of that prophecy, although the prophecy is revealed to be happening a few months later in The Lost Hero.

The Lost Hero
Chiron first appears when he says to Jason "You...you should be dead." He then "invites" Jason inside the big house. He is still the camp's activities director; but Mr. D is barely mentioned in this book, since Zeus has brought the gods back to Olympus and closed it off. He also explains why the Roman and Greek Demigods were separated. At the end of the book he holds a council leaders meeting where he, Annabeth and Jason discuss Percy's possible location and condition.

Physical Description
Chiron is described as a white stallion from the waist down with brown hair, brown eyes and a beard grown longer in the winter. In the movie his lower half is chestnut brown.

The Lightning Thief
In the film The Lightning Thief, Chiron is played by Pierce Brosnan. He is portrayed as being a centaur with a dark brown lower body pelt, where as in the books he is said to be a white stallion instead.

Trivia

 * Although he is portrayed as a white stallion from the waist down in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, in The Lightning Thief film, graphic novel and video game, he is shown to have a dark brown lower body pelt instead. It is unknown why.