Chiron

"A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve."

- Chiron

Chiron is the activities director at Camp Half-Blood. The son of Kronos, he is the centaur trainer of heroes from Greek mythology, including Hercules, Jason, and Achilles. Chiron is also known as Mr. Brunner.

History
Chiron was sired by the Titan King Kronos, who was in the form of a horse at the time. His mother, Philyra, abandoned him on Mount Pelion at birth because of her disgust at his appearance. Later the god Apollo took care of the child and taught him all his skills. In return, Apollo sent Chiron demigods for him to teach all that he had learned. Chiron is not a true centaur, as centaurs are notorious for being overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, wild, lusty, and generally uncultured delinquents. Chiron, by contrast, was very intelligent, civilized, and kind. Also, true centaurs are born of sun and cloud (Ixion and Nephele), and are not immortal. However, Chiron gained his immortality from the gods.

After accidentally getting hit by a poisonous arrow, Chiron felt a lot of pain and later gave up his immortality. Whether this account was false or he was resurrected, Chiron lived to Percy Jackson's time. This is because he was given immortality by Zeus so he will stay alive just as long as he is needed to teach heroes.

Students of Chiron
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. Among his known students are:


 * Achilles - Chiron raised him on behalf of Thetis and Peleus.
 * Actaeon - The son of Aristaeus. He was bred to be a hunter. Artemis turned him into a deer after he accidentally stumbled upon her bathing. After he in the form of a deer was accidentally killed by his own dogs, Chiron fastened his image to soothe the dogs.
 * Aeneas
 * Ajax - A Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War.
 * Aristaeus - The father of Actaeon. According to some sources, Chiron taught him the art of healing and prophecy while other accounts state that the Muses were responsible for these teachings.
 * Asclepius - He learned some healing techniques from Chiron.
 * Atalanta
 * Caeneus - A Lapith who fought during the Centauromachy.
 * Hercules - Some Greek myths state that Hercules was trained by Chiron.
 * Jason - The leader of the Argonauts. In early Greek tradition, Jason was given to Chiron by Aeson.
 * Oileus - A member of the Argonauts.
 * Patrocles - His father left him in the care of Chiron to study alongside Achilles.
 * Peleus - The father of Achilles who was previously saved from the Centaurs by Chiron who returned Peleus' sword to him.
 * Perseus - A Greek hero who was known for beheading Medusa
 * Phoenix - A Myrmidon who accompanied Achilles in the Trojan War. Chiron was the one who restored his eyesight.
 * Telamon - A Greek King who was the father of Ajax and Teucer.
 * Theseus - A Greek hero who was known for slaying the Minotaur.
 * Percy Jackson- Chiron takes special interest in Percy, even going undercover as Mr. Brunner in his school.

The Lightning Thief
Chiron posed as Percy Jackson's Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, as he was called by Grover Underwood the satyr in charge of Percy. He used an enchanted wheelchair and fake legs to hide his backside. 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 minor 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 was disappointed on not being able to train him more as he did with other heroes before Percy. After Percy tells Chiron of Luke's betrayal, Chiron departs to Olympus straight away to warn the gods.

The Sea of Monsters
Chiron is blamed for poisoning Thalia's tree and the camp's borders (since he is a son of Kronos), and replaced by Tantalus who took over the position of 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 as she believed him as a father, 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 and it is known that Chiron's immortality will live within him as long as he was needed, even though he wasn't training.

The Titan's Curse
Chiron tries to comfort Percy after Annabeth is kidnapped though he himself was a very worried centuar. He later arranges a friendly Capture the Flag game between the Campers and the Hunters. Much to the campers and Chiron's dismay, the Hunters emerge victorious for the fifty-sixth time in a row as Chiron later announces. 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 which makes things worse. He is dismayed to hear Chiron state that he wouldn't choose Percy or Thalia as his choice for this quest since he believes that the two of them together would be very dangerous as Percy is powerful but is not sure of himself and Thalia is powerful and is too sure of herself. Chiron deeply cares about Annabeth, they are even closer to each other than 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. When Clarisse finally arrives at the end of the book, she wants to talk to Chiron immediately.

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 believed to be dead), and was relieved to see him again. Chiron is somewhat surprised to see Nico again, and later admits to Percy that he knows that his father is Hades. He fights in the battle against Luke's forces, and they win, with the help of Grover. Chiron was unsuccessful in shooting down Kampê. After the battle, Chiron was injured and required medical attention.

The Last Olympian
Due to Poseidon's request, Chiron finally reveals the entire Great Prophecy to Percy. Chiron tells him of what happened with Typhon and is very worried for the fate of Olympus. He organizes the teams for battle, though Chiron 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 Kronos, and there is a confrontation between the two, and Chiron was called 'that weakling son of mine' by Kronos. The Titan King throws Chiron 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 meets Jason and says to him in horror: "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. Chiron is unable to tell anybody about the existence of Roman demigods and Camp Jupiter, which infuriates Annabeth (he never withheld information from her before), but he does admit that the Second Great Prophecy could predict something worse than the Second Titanomachy. When Leo returns from his quest and reveals Bunker 9, Chiron finally tells of its' history with the Demigod Civil War. He also explains that there was a possibility of Bunker 9 rekindling the same spark that caused the Civil War between Romans and Greeks and that was why even in the Second Titan War, it was never used until Leo had discovered it. Later at the council meeting, he discusses with the other council leaders the events of the quest, the building of the Argo II, and Annabeth and Jason discuss Percy's possible location and condition.

The Son of Neptune
Percy mentions Chiron, hoping that he'll forgive him for attacking Centaurs who were invading Camp Jupiter. Percy feels that Chiron would forgive him because these Centaurs weren't like the Party Ponies, these Centaurs were raised to fight the Romans as they were soldiers of Gaea.

The Mark of Athena
Percy and Annabeth contact Chiron in a dream to warn him of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata's attack on the Greek camp.

The House of Hades
Leo and Calypso see Chiron is a vision, depicting the centaur dressed for war, trotting up and down the ranks of Greek demigods, his plumed helmet gleaming, his legs decked in bronze greaves. His usual friendly smile is gone, replaced with a look of grim determination.

The Blood of Olympus
Chiron is seen with the Greek demigods, Cyclopses, Satyrs, and Nymphs defending the camp. After the battle with Gaea he has a funeral for the fallen campers- both Greek and Roman, and he has Nico di Angelo lead the ceremony. He is later seen at the Campfire complementing the two groups of demigods on their newly formed alliance and friendship. He also later has several long conversation with Reyna and Frank, the Praetors of Camp Jupiter, discussing the now established alliance between both camps.

The Hidden Oracle
Six months after the defeat of Gaea, Chiron greets the former god Apollo and the latter's demigod master Meg McCaffrey at the Big House. There, they discuss the former god's current condition and the missing campers. At dinner Chiron discusses the upcoming three legged death race with the campers, and he bears witness to Meg getting claimed by her mother Demeter.

After the race, Chiron forms a search party for Apollo, Meg, Austin and Kayla.

When Rachel arrives at camp, she, Meg, and Chiron talk with Apollo about Triumvirate Holdings and how they have influenced events to suit them selves.

When the Colossus Neronis automaton attacks camp, Chiron fires numerous arrows at him, though that had little to no effect. When Percy arrives at camp he aids the centaur, while Apollo shoots a plague arrow at the automation, finally bringing it down.

Right after the Colossus is brought down, Leo, Calypso, and Festus finally return to camp, and Chiron is quick to welcome the son of Heaphestus back, though he kicks Leo in the gut with his centaur hoof, and tells him never to do any such thing again.

Personality
As the Director of Camp Half-Blood, Chiron takes great pride in his students and acts as a father figure to those that have problems with their own family (like Annabeth). He is remarkably patient with all of the campers, even those that can be exceptionally hard to deal with, like Clarisse La Rue and Meg McCaffrey.

Unlike all other centaurs, Chiron is exceptionally intelligent, wise, civilized, and kind. As seen in The Lost Hero, Chiron is also honorable and just, and does not talk about the Romans, Camp Jupiter and the Demigod Civil War until the others find out, since he values the oath that he and Lupa made. Most notably, Chiron does not even tell Annabeth, whom he never withheld information from previously, not even the Great Prophecy.

Chiron will also go out of his way or put himself in danger to protect the campers even if he knows that he may not be able to help them. The greatest example of this was when Chiron directly attacked Kronos himself, even though he knew that he stood no chance against his father.

Chiron also has deep faith in Percy, even before Percy knew he was a demigod in The Lightning Thief. During his time as Percy's teacher at Yancy Academy, he would constantly push Percy to excel in his studies and pushed him to not only pass the class, but do so with a high grade. Even though Percy didn't manage to pass with an A, he still managed to get a decent grade. Chiron later tells Jason in The Lost Hero that he is very proud of the person that Percy had become.

While he is calm and patient he occasionally becomes angry, during which Percy notes that Chiron's tone becomes "steely calm."

Appearance
Chiron is described as a middle-aged white centaur from the waist down with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, intense brown eyes and a scruffy beard grown longer in the winter.

Abilities
As an immortal son of Kronos as well as the legendary Trainer of Heroes, Chiron is far more powerful, intelligent, and civilized than other centaurs.
 * Archery: As the bow and arrow are his favorite weapons, Chiron is an incredibly skillful archer. In The Hidden Oracle, Apollo himself praised his archery skills.
 * Swordsmanship: As shown in The Last Olympian, Chiron was an outstanding swordsman, being able to fight his father, Kronos, on an equal footing before being blasted against a wall.
 * Bending Distance: Like any centaur, Chiron was able to travel at great speeds - "bending distance" as he rides.
 * Vitakinesis: As shown in The Lightning Thief, Chiron was a skillful healer, being able to effectively cure Percy of a pit scorpion bite.
 * Latin: As shown in The Lightning Thief, Chiron was fluent in Latin, and was therefore able to pose as a Latin teacher at Yancy Academy.

The Lightning Thief
In the film, 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.

The Sea of Monsters
In the film adaptation of The Sea of Monsters, Anthony Head replaced Pierce Brosnan in the role of Chiron.

Trivia

 * Although he is portrayed as a white stallion from the waist down in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, in the film, graphic novel and video game, he is shown to have a dark brown lower body pelt instead.
 * He is known to like 50's music as shown in The Sea of Monsters, and he is also a fan of 40's music in The Lost Hero, but it is unknown if it is in fact 1940's music he is playing. He also likes Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. It is unknown if he likes other members of the Rat Pack or just the two, who are the most famous members.
 * He is technically the first Monster to appear in the series, although he used his wheelchair to disguise his full form.
 * Chiron can speak Latin fluently.
 * He is a brother of the Big Three and the other Elder Olympians.
 * Chiron is the only child of Kronos who isn't an Olympian.
 * He is similar in almost every respect to Professor Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter  series. He is a teacher of the next-generation heroes as Albus is for wizards; he is a wise, patient and charismatic figure who watches over and helps guide Percy just as Albus does Harry.
 * In the myths he was placed in the sky as the constellation Centaurus.

Quirón

Chiron