Editing Caeneus (section)

==Iconography==
[[File:Athens Agora Temple of Hephaestus 13.jpg|thumb|250px|Centaurs pound Caeneus to the ground, from the frieze of the [[Temple of Hephaestus]], second half of 5th-century BC.]]

Caeneus is one of the earliest mythological figures in ancient Greek art that can be securely identified.<ref>{{harvnb|Fowler|2013|p=159}}; For an overview of Caeneus iconography, see {{harvnb|Padgett|2003|pp=15–16}}; for a comprehensive discussion, see {{harvnb|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n478/mode/1up pp. 884–891]}} (images: {{harvnb|''LIMC'' V-2|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-2%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n282/mode/1up pp. 563–576]}}).</ref> 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.{{sfn|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n478/mode/1up p. 885]}} However, the Centauromachy was a popular theme in the visual arts,{{sfn|Fowler|2013|p=159}} and many examples show depictions of Caeneus battling Centaurs.<ref>{{harvnb|Rose|2012}}. The ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' catalogues 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 {{harvnb|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n478/mode/1up p. 885]}}.</ref>

The earliest depiction, from the mid–late seventh century BC, is the bronze relief from Olympia, where two Centaurs hammer Caeneus into the ground with tree trunks. He is represented as an armored [[hoplite]], already beaten into the ground to mid-calf. In any depiction of the Centauromachy, this partially-sunken motif makes Caeneus immediately identifiable.<ref>{{harvnb|Padgett|2003|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n481/mode/1up p. 890]}}; {{harvnb|Gantz|1996|p=281}}, describes the relief as an "unmistakable" depiction of Caeneus.</ref> That Caeneus is here depicted without a shield (having instead a sword in each hand) implies invulnerability.<ref>{{harvnb|Fowler|2013|p=159}}; {{harvnb|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n481/mode/1up p. 890]}}, calls this double armament with swords (also seen in {{harvnb|''LIMC'' V-2|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-2%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n287/mode/1up pp. 573–575, Kaineus 63, 70]}}) "{{lang|de|auffällig}}" ('striking').</ref> The heraldic three-figured grouping on this relief, with Caeneus flanked by two Centaurs, becomes canonical.<ref>{{harvnb|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n481/mode/1up p. 890]}}. Of the 76 catalogued entries in the ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'', categorized by the number of Centaurs attacking Caeneus, 57 depict this configuration.</ref>

Caeneus battling Centaurs is the centerpiece of the Centauromacy depicted on the neck of the mid-sixth-century BC François Vase. Here Caeneus, already buried up to his waist, is shown being pounded by three Centaurs using boulders and a tree trunk.{{sfnm|Fowler|2013|1pp=159–160|Padgett|2003|2pp=15–16|Gantz|1996|3pp=280–281}} This depiction of Caeneus is the first to identify Caeneus by inscription, and the first to introduce a third Centaur opponent.{{sfn|Laufer|1990|loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n481/mode/1up p. 890]}} Other depictions appeared on temple [[frieze]]s from the second half of the fifth century BC, including those on the [[Temple of Hephaestus]] at Athens, the [[Temple of Apollo Epicurius]] at [[Bassae]], and the [[Temple of Poseidon, Sounion|Temple of Poseidon]] at [[Sounion]].{{sfnm|Gantz|1996|1p=281|Laufer|1990|2loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-1%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n480/mode/1up p. 888, n. 54–56, fig. Kaineus 57]|''LIMC'' V-2|3loc=[https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20V-2%20Herakles-Kenchrias/page/n287/mode/1up p. 572, Kaineus 56]}}