On Unbelievable Tales

The true event is rather this. When Ixion was king in Thessaly, a herd of bulls on Mount Pelion became wild. They made the neighboring mountains unsafe; they came down into the plain; destroyed trees and crops, and caused the tame livestock to run wild. Ixion therefore promised, through a public proclamation, a considerable reward to whoever would kill the bulls. Because one did not yet understand the art of riding at that time, but rather only made use of wagons, some young men from a village called Nephele hit upon the idea of training horses for riding. They mounted these trained horses, rode to where the bulls were, charged at the herd, and threw javelins among them. If they were pursued by the bulls, they fled on their swifter horses. If the bulls stood still, however, they turned around again and threw their spears at them. In this way, they killed them and therefore received the name of Centaurs, because they had pierced the bulls with javelins. original: "Von den griechischen Wörtern κεντᾷν durchstechen, und ταύρος ein Ochse oder Stier." (From the Greek words kentein [to pierce] and tauros [an ox or bull].) For of a bull, nothing is found