CAENEUS (lapith hero of Thessaly)
Figure of myth · Lapith hero of Thessaly
- Parents
- Elatus, Atrax
- Children
- Coronus, Priasus, Eneus
- In the sources
- 14 ancient passages
Caeneus, son of Elatus and Atrax, stood as one of the mightiest men ever born on earth and a prince among the Lapith warriors.1,2,3,4,5,6 He was the father of the Lapith king Coronus, as well as Priasus and Eneus, and served as an ancestor of the Lapith people.1,2,5 Yet beneath this mighty frame lay a secret: Caeneus was originally a woman before being transformed into a man.7,8
After an encounter with Poseidon, Caeneus requested to become an invulnerable man, a boon that made him impervious to wounds.8 He joined the group of nobles assembled to sail on the Argo, fighting alongside heroes like Peirithous and Dryas.4,9,6 In battle, he helped utterly overthrow the fiercest tribes of mountain savages and killed the warrior Ortygius.3,10 Bards say he defeated the Centaurs while separated from other leaders, opposing figures such as Petraeus and Asbolus.8,1,6
During the conflict with the Centaurs, the beasts were unable to bend or kill him due to his invulnerability.1,8 Eventually, the Centaurs surrounded Caeneus, struck him with fir trees, and buried him in the earth under the weight of heavy pines.1,8 He was persuaded by Nestor's words and counsels, having been a familiar friend of the older warrior.3
After death, Fate transformed Caeneus back into a maiden's form, a reversal that weakened him by his doubtful sex.11,7 He now resides in the Fields of Sorrow among other ghosts, remembered as a highly esteemed man of former days.4,7
The codex facts behind this entry
Caeneus was considered one of the mightiest men ever born on earth. Iliad 1 ¶25 +1 Caeneus was originally a woman before being transformed into a man. Aeneid 6.426 +1
In the myths
Bards say Caeneus defeated the Centaurs while separated from other leaders. Apollodorus, Epitome 1.22 +1
