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Caeneus

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Fig. 1Two centaurs pound Caeneus into the ground with tree trunks; bronze relief from Olympia,Archaeological Museum of OlympiaBE 11a (mid seventh century BC)[1]

InGreek mythology,CaeneusorKaineus(/ˈsɛnjuːs/SEN-yooss;Ancient Greek:Καινεύς,romanized:Kaineús) was born a female,Caenis(/ˈsiːnɪs/;Ancient Greek:Καινίς,romanized:Kainís) the daughter ofElatus,who was raped by Poseidon and transformed by him into an invulnerable man. He was aLapithruler ofThessaly,and the father of theArgonautCoronus.He participated in theCentauromachywhere he met his demise at the hands of the Centaurs by being pounded into the ground while still alive.[2]

Family[edit]

Caeneus's father was theLapithkingElatusfromGyrtonin Thessaly,[3]and his son was theArgonautCoronus,who was killed byHeracleswhile leading a war against theDoriansand their kingAegimius.[4]According to the mythographerHyginus,Caeneus' mother wasHippea,the daughter of Antippus who was a Thessalian fromLarissa,his brothers wereIschys,and theArgonautPolyphemus,and, in addition to Coronus, he had two other sonsPhocus,andPriasus,who were also Argonauts.[5]According toAntoninus Liberalis,his father wasAtrax.[6]

Mythology[edit]

Transformation[edit]

Caeneus was originally a woman who was transformed into a man by the sea-godPoseidon.[7]Although possibly as old as theHesiodicCatalogue of Women(c. first half of the sixth century BC),[8]the oldest secure mention of this transformation comes from the mythographerAcusilaus(sixth to fifth century BC).[9]According to Acusilaus, after having sex with Poseidon, Elatus' daughter (here called Caene), because of some (sacred?) prohibition, did not want to have a child by Poseidon, or anyone else, so, to prevent this, Poseidon transformed her into an invulnerable man, stronger than any other.[10]However, according to the usual version of events, after having sex with Caenis, Poeisdon promised he would do whatever she wanted, so Caenis asked to be transformed into an invulnerable man, which Poseidon did.[11]

Kingship[edit]

Besides the Centaurmachy, little is said about Caeneus's activities after his transformation. According to Acusilaus, Caeneus was the strongest warrior of his day, and became king of theLapiths.[12]However because of an act of impiety, Caeneus angered the gods. Acusilaus says that Caeneus set up his spear (somewhere? and did something?)—the transmitted text here is corrupt. However, according to anIliadscholiast, Caeneus setup his spear in theagoraand ordered his subjects to worship it, while according to a scholiast onApollonius of Rhodes'Argonautica,Caeneus himself worshipped his spear rather than the gods. In either case, Caenus' actions so offended the gods that, as Acusilaus goes on to say, Zeus sent the Centaurs against him.[13]TheOxyrhynchus Papyrusthat supplies Acusilaus' account, says that Caeneus was used, byTheophrastos,as an example of ruling by the "spear" rather than the "scepter", that is by force rather than authority.[14]

Caeneus was also listed as among those who took part in theCalydonian boar huntby the sixth-century BC Greeklyric poetStesichorus,[15]as well as by the Roman poetOvidand the Roman mythographerHyginus,although no details of his participation are given.[16]

Centauromachy[edit]

Fig. 2Caeneus (inscription: "ΚΑIΝΕVS" ) already halfway into the ground, being hammered by three Centaurs, one using a tree trunk (on the left) and two using boulders (on the right);volute krater,François Vase,byKleitias,Florence,National Archaeological Museum4209 (c. 570–560 BC).[17]

Caeneus' participation in the Centauromachy—the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast ofPirithous—seems to be the earliest story told about Caeneus. His transformation and other stories being later elaborations.[18]

Caeneus fought in theCentauromachywhere he met his demise (usually, see below). Because of his invulnerability, none of the Centaurs weapons could hurt him, and in order to defeat Caeneus, they had to hammer him into the ground with tree trunks and boulders while he was still alive and unharmed.[19]

Caeneus' earliest mention occurs inHomer'sIliad,whereNestornames Caeneus among those "mightiest" of warriors who fought and defeated the Centaurs:[20]

Such warriors have I never since seen, or shall see, as Peirithous was, and Dryas, shepherd of men, and Caeneus, and Exadius, and godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus, son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals. Mightiest were these of all men reared on the earth; mightiest were they, and with the mightiest did they fight, with the centaurs that had their lairs among the mountains, and terribly did they destroy them.[21]

TheHesiodicShield of Heracles(c. first half of the sixth century BC)[22]describes "the spear-bearing Lapiths around Caeneus their king" battling the Centaurs who fought with fir trees.[23]

There is no mention in Homer, or theShield,of the story of Caeneus' invulnerability and the unique manner of his death at the hands of the Centaurs which invulnerability entailed.[24]However, the Centaurmachy was a popular theme in Greek art, and depictions of Caeneus show that this story was well known by at least as early as the seventh century BC. Two Centaurs are shown pounding Caeneus into the ground with tree trunks on a mid seventh-century BC bronze relief from Olympia (Fig. 1), and on theFrançois Vase(c. 570–560 BC), Caeneus, already halfway into the ground, is being pounded by three Centaurs, two using boulders and one a tree trunk (Fig. 2).[25]

The first preserved literary mention of Caeneus' death is found in Acusilaus, which says that Caeneus died after the Centaurs beat him "upright" (ὄρθιον) into the ground and sealed him in with a rock. The fifth-century BC Greek poetPindarapparently also referred to Caeneus being driven vertically (ὀρθῷ ποδὶ) into the ground.[26]

The third-century BCArgonauticaofApollonius of Rhodes,gives a fuller account, saying that Caeneus:

although still living, perished at the hands of the Centaurs, when, all alone and separated from the other heroes, he routed them. They rallied against him, but were not strong enough to push him back nor to kill him, so instead, unbroken and unbending, he sank beneath the earth, hammered by the downward force of mighty pine trees.[27]

Concerning Caeneus' fate, Ovid has Nestor say that some thought Caeneus was pushed down directly intoTartarus,but that the seerMopsussaid that Caeneus had been transformed into a bird.[28]While according to theOrphic Argonautica,Caeneus endured his beating by the Centaurs without bending a knee, and "went down among the dead under the earth while still alive."[29]

Hyginus(following a different tradition?) listed Caeneus among those who killed themselves.[30]While inVirgil'sAeneid,Aeneasvisits a place in the Underworld called theLugentes campi( "Mourning Fields), where those who died for love reside. Virgil locates these fields as part of (or near to?) the region containing suicides.[31]There Aeneas sees Caeneus of whom Virgil says, although once a man, is now a woman again, "turned back by Fate into her form of old".[32]

Iconography[edit]

Caeneus is one of the earliest mythological figures in ancient Greek art that can be securely identified.[33]The only event concerning Caeneus found in ancient Greek iconography is his participation in the Centauromachy—no surviving example of Caeneus' original femininity and transformation is found.[34]However, the Centaurmachy was a popular theme in the visual arts,[35]and many examples show depictions of Caeneus battling Centaurs.[36]

The earliest depiction is the bronze relief from Olympia (Fig. 1) mentioned above where two Centaurs hammer Caeneus into the ground with tree trunks.[37]The heraldic three-figured grouping on this relief, with Caeneus flanked by two Centaurs, becomes canonical.[38]That Caeneus is here depicted without a shield (having instead a sword in each hand) implies invulnerability.[39]

TheFrançois Vase(Fig. 2), also mentioned above, from the mid-sixth century BC, shows Caeneus already halfway into the ground, being pounded by three Centaurs, using boulders and a tree trunk.[40]This depiction of Caeneus is the first to identify Caeneus by inscription and the first to introduce a third Centaur opponent.[41]Other depictions appeared on temple friezes from the second half of the fifth century BC, including those on theTemple of Hephaestusat Athens, theTemple of Apollo EpicuriusatBassae,and theTemple of PoseidonatSounion.[42]

In theMetamorphoses[edit]

Fig. 3Poseidon and Caenis, woodcut illustration forOvid'sMetamorphosesbook 12 byVirgil Solis,1563.

The most detailed account of Caeneus' story is found in the Roman poetOvid'sMetamorphoses,which takes up most of book 12, and has Nestor tell Achilles the story of Caeneus' transformation, the brawl between the Centaurs and the Thessalians atPirithous's wedding feast, and Caeneus' demise.[43]No earlier version of the story explains why Caeneus chose to be transformed into a man, however theMetamorphosesdoes.[44]According to Ovid, Caenis was the most beautiful of maidens, but refused all of her many suitors. One day, as "report declares", while walking on the beach, she was raped by the sea-god Neptune (the Roman equivalent of Poseidon). Afterwards, when the god promised to grant her any request, Caenis chose to be made a man, so that she would never suffer being raped again:[45]

The great wrong,
which I have suffered from you justifies
the wonderful request that I must make;
I ask that I may never suffer such
an injury again. Grant I may be
no longer woman, and I'll ask no more.[46]

This Neptune did, transforming the girl into a man, and in addition making Caeneus "proof against all wounds of spear or sword". After which Caeneus went away happy, spending "years in every manful exercise", while roaming the plains of northern Thessaly.[47]

Nestor next describes the wedding feast of Pirithous andHippodamia,to which the Centaurs and the "Thessalian chiefs" (including Caeneus) were invited.[48]After a drunken Centaur tries to abduct Hippodamia, a brawl breaks out, during which Caeneus killed five Centaurs (Styphelus, Bromus, Antimachus, Elymus, and Pyracmos).[49]Caeneus is then mocked by the Centaur Latreus who says:

Shall I put up with one like you, O Caeneus?
For you are still a woman in my sight.
Have you forgot your birth or that disgrace
by which you won reward—at what a price
you got the false resemblance to a man?!
Consider both your birth, and what you have
submitted to! Take up a distaff, and
wool basket! Twist your threads with practiced thumb!
Leave warfare to your men![50]

When none of the their weapons could harm him, the Centaurs buried Caeneus under mountains of trees and rocks, crushing the life out of him.[51]Nestor tells Achilles, that no one knew for certain what had happened to Caeneus, that some thought he was pushed down intoTartarus,however when a yellow bird emerged from his burial pile, the seerMopsussaid that Caeneus had been transformed (as must happen in anyMetamorphosesepisode) into a bird. The story of Caeneus' metamorphosis into a bird only occurs here, and, if not an Ovidian invention, is probably a Hellenistic one.[52]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Gantz, pp. 280–281; Laufer,p. 888, no. 61;Digital LIMC22983;LIMCV-2,p. 573, Kaineus 61.
  2. ^Rose,s.v. Caeneus;Vissers.v. Caeneus;Grimal, s.v. Caeneus; Tripp, s.v. Caeneus.
  3. ^Rose,s.v. Caeneus;Grimal, s.v. Caeneus; Tripp, s.v. Caeneus; Parada, s.v. Caeneus 1;Hesiod,Catalogue of Womenfr. 165 Most [= fr. 87 MW];Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman];Hyginus,Fabulae14,173,242;Ovid,Metamorphoses12.189.
  4. ^Hard,p. 557;Grimal, s.v. Caeneus; Parada, s.v. Coronus 1;Homer,Iliad2.746;Apollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica,1.57-64;Hyginus,Fabulae14.For Coronus' war against the Dorians, seeDiodorus Siculus,4.37.3;Apollodorus,2.7.7.
  5. ^Parada, s.vv. Caeneus 1, Hippea;Hyginus,Fabulae14.For Ischys as brother, see alsoApollodorus,3.10.3.Apollodorus,1.9.16lists "Caeneus, son of Coronus", as one of the Argonauts, which—under the assumption that this is the same Coronus, that this is not a mixup of the two names, and does not represents a separate tradition in which Caeneus was an Argonaut—would make this Argonaut Caeneus a grandson of Caeneus, so Parada, s.v. Coronus 1.
  6. ^Parada, s.v. Caeneus 1;Antoninus Liberalis,Metamorphoses17.
  7. ^Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman];Hesiod fr. 165 Most[= fr. 87 MW];Ovid,Metamorphoses12.168–209;Apollodorus,E.1.22;Plutarch,How a Man May Become Aware of His Progress in Virtue(Quomodo quis suos in virtute sentiat profectus)75 E;Lucian,De Saltatione56,Gallus19;Antoninus Liberalis,Metamorphoses17.
  8. ^Most 2018b,p. liii
  9. ^Fowler 2013, p. 160. As for the possibly olderHesiod fr. 165 Most[= fr. 87 MW =Phlegon,On Marvelous Things5], according to Fowler, "some doubt must attach to the list of authorities at the outset of Phlegon's account."
  10. ^Fowler 2013, pp. 160–161; Gantz, p. 181;Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman]. According to Fowler, the implication here is that because intercourse with a god would always produce a child, her transformation would prevent this. He also suggests that the prohibition was perhaps one involving intercourse in a sanctuary or with a virgin priestess.
  11. ^Fowler 2013, p. 160; Gantz, p. 281;Hesiod fr. 165 Most;Ovid,Metamorphoses12.168–209;Apollodorus,E.1.22;ScholiaonHomer'sIliad1.264.
  12. ^Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman]. TheShield of Heracles178–190,also has Caeneus as king of the Lapiths.
  13. ^Hard,p. 557;Fowler 2013, p. 160; Gantz, p. 281; Frazer's note toApollodorusE.1.22;Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman]; Scholia D. onIliad1.264;Scholia on Apollonius of RhodesArgonautica1.57.
  14. ^Fowler 2013, p. 160.
  15. ^Fowler, p. 159 n. 27;Stesichorus,Boar-huntersfr. 222 Campbell.
  16. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses8.305;Hyginus,Fabulae173.
  17. ^Gantz, p. 281; Laufer,p. 888, no. 67;Digital LIMC1602;LIMCV-2,p. 574, Kaineus 67.
  18. ^So Visser,s.v. Caeneus.
  19. ^Hard,p. 557;Gantz, p. 280;Shield of Heracles178–190;Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman];Pindarfr. 128f Race[= fr. 128f SM];Apollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica1.57-64;Apollodorus,E.1.22;Orphic Argonautica168.
  20. ^Fowler 2013, p. 159; Hard, pp.555–556;Gantz, p. 278.
  21. ^Homer,Iliad1.262–268.
  22. ^Most 2018b,p. lvii.
  23. ^Shield of Heracles178–190.
  24. ^Fowler 2013, p. 159. However, in the case of theIliad,as Fowler notes (citing Griffin), this is the kind of detail Homer would suppress. According to Griffin, p. 40, "the fantastic" is used sparingly by Homer, and in particular "invulnerability... is un-Homeric".
  25. ^Fowler 2013, pp. 159–160; Gantz, pp. 280–281.
  26. ^Fowler 2013, pp. 159–160; Gantz, pp. 280–281;Acusilausfr. 22 Toye[=fr. 22 Fowler=fr. 40a Freeman];Pindarfr. 128f Race[= fr. 128f SM]; cf.Plutarch,The Stoics Talk More Paradoxically Than The Poets(Compendium Argumenti Stoicos absurdiora poetis dicere)1057 D.For the meaning of Pindar's "ὀρθῷ ποδὶ" see Fowler, p. 160; Slaters.v. ὀρθός.
  27. ^Races' translation ofApollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica1.57-64.Compare withApollodorus,E.1.22.
  28. ^Hard,p. 557;Gantz, p. 281;Ovid,Metamorphoses12.522–531.
  29. ^Colovito's translationofOrphic Argonautica173–174[= Stephanie Eschenbachii's Latin translation of170–171,using a slightly different line numbering].
  30. ^Hyginus,Fabulae242.
  31. ^Knox,pp. 74–75;Virgil,Aeneid6.434–447.
  32. ^Virgil,Aeneid6.448–449.
  33. ^Fowler, p. 159; For a comprehensive discussion of Caeneus iconography see Laufer,pp. 884–891(images:LIMCV-2,pp. 563–576).
  34. ^Laufer,p. 885.
  35. ^Fowler, p. 159.
  36. ^Rose,s.v. Caeneus.TheLIMCcatalogues 83 examples, organized as follows: Caeneus battling with one Centaur (1–8), two Centaurs (9–66), three or more Centaurs (67–76), uncertain (77–78) or lost (80–83), see Lauferp. 885.
  37. ^Laufer,p. 890.Gantz, p. 281, describes the relief as an "unmistakable" depiction of Caeneus.
  38. ^Laufer,p. 890.Of the 76 catalogued entries in theLIMC,categorized by the number of Centaurs attacking Caeneus, 57 depict this configuration.
  39. ^Fowler, p. 159. Laufer,p. 890,calls this double armament with swords (also seen inLIMCKaineus63,70) "auffällig" ( "striking" ).
  40. ^Fowler 2013, pp. 159–160; Gantz, pp. 280–281.
  41. ^Laufer,p. 890.
  42. ^Gantz, p. 281; Laufer,p. 888, nos. 54–56, fig. Kaineus 57;LIMCV-2,p. 572, Kaineus 56.
  43. ^Gantz, p. 281;Ovid,Metamorphoses12.168–535.
  44. ^Gantz, p. 281.
  45. ^Tripp, s.v. Caeneus;Ovid,Metamorphoses189–203.
  46. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.201–203.
  47. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.205–209.
  48. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.210–213.
  49. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.459–461.
  50. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.470–476.
  51. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses12.477–521.
  52. ^Hard,p. 557;Gantz, p. 281;Ovid,Metamorphoses12.522–531.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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