Marco Antonio Tritonio, Those Who Had The Power To Change Their Forms

THOSE WHO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THEIR FORMS.

• Achelous
• Caenis
• Metra
• Morpheus
• Periclymenus
• Protheus
• Scython
• Tethys
• Vertmnus

*ACHELOUS used to change into many different forms [cf. Ovid’s Metamorphoses, book 9, story 1]

* CAENIS born a girl, beloved by Neptune, and was granted the ability to change into a man because he wanted to do so, and was called Caeneus [cf. book 12, story 4]

* METRA was the daughter of Erisichthon, whom Neptune granted the ability to change into whatever form she wanted  [cf book 8, story 9]

* MORPHEUS was the son of Somnus who could imitate any shape [cf. book 2, story 10]

* PERICLYMENUS: Neptune gave him the ability to turn into whatever shape he wanted [cf. book 12, story 5]

* PROTHEUS was the son of Oceanus and Tethys who had the ability to change shape into whatever shape they wanted [book 8 story 7]

* SCYTHON could alternate between man and woman  [book 4 story 8 ]

* TETHYS could also do that [book 2, story 7 ]

* VERTUMNUS was a god who lived up to his name, in that he could change into various shapes [book 14 story 16 ]

--M. Antonii Tritonii Utinenis, Mythologia, 1560 p. 65-66

Qui in Varias Se Formas Convertendi Potestaem Habuerunt.

Achelous

Caenis

Metra

Morpheus

Periclymenus

Protheus

Scython

Tethys

Vertmnus

ACHELOUS in multas se commutare figuras consueverat. [lib.ix.fab.1]

CAENIS puella a Neptuno adamata obtinuit, ut in virum cum vellet, mutaretur, qui Caeneus dictus est. [lib.xii.fab.iiii]

METRA Erisichthonis filia, in quascunque voluisset formas convertendi se a Neptuno potestatem impetravit. [lib.viii.fab.ix]

MORPHEUS Somni filius omnium figuraarum erat imitator [lib.ii.fab.x]

PERICLYMENUS a Neptuno quoque potestatem accepit, ut se in quas optaret, figuras verteret. [lib.xii.fab.v]

PROTHEUS Oceani & Tethyos filius eam a Diis habuit potestatem, ut in quas vellet formas se commutaret. [lib.viii.fab.vii]

SCYTHON modo in virum, modo in feminam potuit converti. [lib.iiii.fab.viii]

TETHYS idem efficere consuverat, [lib.ii.fab.vii]

VERTUMNUS Deus vel ipso nomne demosntrat, ut in varias potuerit verti figuras. [lib.xiiiifab.xvi]

 

 

Caeneus Tells His Story: Andrea Dugonicius, Argonauticorum book 8

Caeneus Tells His Story

Name:   Andrea Dugonicius Date:   18th century Region:   Szecseny [modern Hungary] Citation:   The Argonauts, or the Golden Fleece Book 8, p. 203 (1778)

Caeneus and Tiresias were seen as the archetypal trans heroes of Greek myth, and occasionally their stories were conflated. In this account of Caeneus, the author here is using elements from the myths of both Tiresias [who transforms from a woman back into a man after seven years] and the myth of Iphis [who was transformed into a man on his wedding day]. 

We had scarcely left sight of Delos and were contemplating what we’d learned. I wasn’t the only one who was worried about the prophecies we’d been given in the shrine. Everyone was either really happy or really terrified about it, but nobody was more worried than Caeneus, for Apollo predicted that he would again become a woman.

I told him, “Hey, Caeneus, buddy, what’s going on? Fill me in so I’m not still in the dark—you used to be a woman?”

He replied, “I was a woman, but now, thanks to the blessings of Neptune, you know me as a man.”

When he didn’t respond anything else, I asked him, friend-to-friend, to tell me more, and then Caeneus told me everything:

“My dad Elatus got a prophecy from the gods, I guess, that he’d be killed by his firstborn daughter, so he avoided getting married. Finally, a bunch of his friends convinced him to do so, so he married the daughter of Antippus. When she gave birth to me and saw she’d birthed a girl, she ignored my father’s prophecy and hid my gender and called me Caeneus. Later on, when I became old enough to get married, I listened to my mother Hippea’s advice and put off getting married. I kept rejecting all of the girls, and really liked hanging out with guys. My father kept hounding me about getting married, and even threatened me with terrible things if  I didn’t obey his will. Well, he finally got his way (even though I didn’t want to). I was betrothed to one of the Magnesian girls, and I kept praying and giving offerings to Neptune to save me.

My prayers were so desperate, that they even found their way underwater. For when I approached the altar on my wedding day, I felt that I had become a man—and that everything got better when I had the body of a man. My mind was now sharper, as well as my reasoning powers; my civic duty was more productive; my romantic love was more purified, and more mellow; my relationships with my friends were stronger, and finally, I gained a yearning for true and wholesome glory. If I change back to a girl, if I lose all of this, what will I do? What friends will I have? Where will I turn?”

This was what Caeneus was worried about.

  

Caeneus Tells His Story

Vix e conspectu Deli discessimus, illico variae cogitationes mortalium animos occuparunt. Non alia potior cogitandi materies, quam edita in Fano oracula. Suam quisque fortunam aut amabat in iis, aut metuebat.

Sed Caeneo magis nemo angebatur, quem iterum foeminam futurum Apollo praedixerat. “Quid vero est,” inquiebam, “mi Caeneu, hoc ne ego ignorare adhuc potui, olim te fuisse foeminam?”

“Fui,” reposuit ille, “foemina, at nunc Neptuni beneficio virum noveris.”

 Cum dein nihil reponeret, ego socium, uti rem aperiat, rogare; tum ille ita recensere historiam:

“Pater meus Elatus, nescio, quo Deorum responso certior redditus: fore, uti a filia, quam primam sustulisset, necaretur, diu a mulierum societate penitus abstinuit; tandem multis Amicorum suasionibus inductus Antippo genitam in coniugem adlegit, quae cum me in lucem ederet, et puellam videret, eorum, quae Patri responsa erant, non immemor, sexum occultavit, atque adpellavit Caeneum. Post, ubi ad eam aetatem perveni, qua uxor e civibus deligenda erat, ego Matris Hippeae monitu omne coniugium respuere, aversari omnes virgines; cum iuvenibus libenter conversari, contra urgere coniugium Pater, et, ni voluntati obsequerer, mala comminari omnia.

Vicit obstinatam. Despondi unam e Magnesiis invita, simulque Neptunum, uti nunc demum miserae succureret, voto precata, et suppliciis. Tam fervens oratio fuit, ut penetrare in maria potuerit. Cum enim ad aras accederem, virum me esse sensi, quo cum sexu omnia mihi pariter bona contigerunt: mens praestantior, et ratio; sollers cura Reipublicae; fervor in amando purior, et decoctus magis; adhoc arctum cum amicis vinculum; postremo gloriae adpetitus verae, atque solidae. His ego omnibus, si sexum mutavero, orbus, quid agam? quo me vertam socii?” Haec de sua sorte Caeneus.

Andrea Dugonicius [18th century, modern Hungary] was born in Szecseny, Hungary, and spent his life contributing to the world as a scholar and a clergyman. One of his most famous works was a 24 volume novel in Latin called The Argonautica.

Avis Resurgens: A Latin Novella About Caeneus

 Avis Resurgens: Fabula de Caeneo is a 250-word first person short story in Latin on the life and adventures of the trans warrior Caeneus.  The PDF is formatted into booklet form using only two printed pages. It is a story of triumph and trans joy.

Caeneus as the Stoic Ideal: Plutarch, Compendium Argumenti Stoicos quam poetas absuriora dicere 1057d

Name:    Plutarch Date:      46 – 119 CE Region:    Chaeronea [modern Greece]   Citation:     Compendium Contra Stoicos,1057d

It is important to note that, like Palaephatus, Plutarch rejects the incredulity of Caeneus' bulletproof skin, but not his gender.

Pindar’s portrayal of Caeneus is criticized because: 1)  he is unrealistically portrayed as being bulletproof, 2) he has an invincible body, as well as 3) he was swallowed whole by the earth without a wound, as he “rends the earth with his right foot.” [Pindar fragment 166f / 147f]

But the Stoic Lapith*, equally made of adamantium (a material impervious to detriment) supposedly is free of not only injury, illness, and grief, but also lacks fear and sorrow. He is completely invincible, never yielding to any by force, and if he is wounded, he never suffers pain. Even if he is tortured, even if his homeland is destroyed, this Caeneus never seems to be upset.

* Caeneus was a Lapith [name of a region in Thessaly]

ὁ Πινδάρου Καινεὺς εὔθυναν ὑπεῖχεν, ἀπιθάνως ἄρρηκτος σιδήρῳ καὶ ἀπαθὴς τὸ σῶμα πλασσόμενος, εἶτα καταδὺς ἄτρωτος ὑπὸ γῆν ‘σχίσας ὀρθῷ ποδὶ γᾶν:’ ὁ δὲ Στωικὸς Λαπίθης, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀδαμαντίνης ὕλης ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν τῆς ἀπαθείας κεχαλκευμένος, οὐκ ἄτρωτός ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἄνοσος οὐδ᾽ ἀναλγής, ἄφοβος δὲ μένει καὶ ἄλυπος καὶ ἀήττητος καὶ ἀβίαστος, τιτρωσκόμενος ἀλγῶν στρεβλούμενος, ἐν κατασκαφαῖς πατρίδος ἐν πάθεσιν, τοιούτοις.

Reprehensus fuit Pindarus, quod Caeneum parum probabiliter finxisset ferro inviolabilem, et corpore quod laedi non posset, terram subiise nullo accepto vulnere, cum "RECTO PEDE SCIDISSET SOLUM."

At Stoicorum iste Lapitha ex adamantina, vacuitatis omnium perpessionum conflatus materia, non vulnerum duntaxat, morborum, dolorum, fingitur expers, sed et metu et moestitia carere, insuperabilis manere, nulli cedere viribus, tum quidem, quando vulneratur, dolores patitur, torquetur, atque adeo etiam in patriae excidio, aliisque Caeneus duntaxat ictus nullo cum vulnere excipit. 

--Translated into Latin by Daniel Wyttenbach, 1832.

 

Plutarch [46 – 119 CE, modern Greece] was a Greek author from Chaeronea, and Roman citizen who lived during the 1st century CE. He had minor governmental and religious administrative roles during his lifetime, but he is best known for his writings. He has numerous philosophical and historical works still extant, including the Parallel Lives, in which he compares the lives of a Roman and Greek statesman for moralistic purposes.

Gone, But Not Forgotten: The Undeath of Caeneus, Pindar, fr. 166f / 147 f.

Although it does not mention the transformation aspect of the myth of Caeneus, this version does attest to his invulnerability. 

 Struck by the green pines, Caeneus broke the earth with his foot and disappeared.

ο δε χλωραϊς ελάταισι τυπείς ώχετο Καινεύς σχίσαις ορθω ποδι γαν

Caeneus vero virentibus abietibus percussus abiit, recto pede terra scisa.

--Pindar, fragment 45 (1821; modern number 166f/147f; attested in Schol. Apollon. Argon.I.61); Translated into Latin by Augustus Boeckhius (1821)

 Pindar is a famous Greek poet from Boeotia (modern Greece) known for his victory odes. These odes, for victors of Pythian, Nemean, and Olympic games, are rich in mythological imagery, and help us understand the relationships of the ancient Greeks to their cultural heritage and their understanding of the past. 

Dangerous Beauty: Caeneus vs the Centaurs, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 12.4

Name: Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:  Plots of Ovid’s Myths, Book 12, Story 4

Nestor told a story of a person from his generation. He said that Caenis was once the daughter of Elatus, who was assaulted by Neptune because of their beauty, and when given a gift in restitution, they were transformed into a man who could not be killed by any weapon.

Caeneus was present when Pirithous, the son of Ixion got married to Hippodamia. Eurytus, along with other centaurs, got drunk and tried to assault the bride, and all of the centaurs and Lapiths started fighting. When everyone was getting killed and a lot of people from both sides had died because of this abduction attempt, Caeneus alone remained standing, unharmed. The rest of the [centaur] survivors ganged up on him, heaping tree trunks upon him to smother him. Neptune did not forget him or his gift; he turned him into a bird that shared his name.

[Nestor] rettulit enim sua aetate Caenin Elati filiam fuisse, quae propter pulchritudinem a Neptuno conpressa sit data venia ob iniuriam, ut in virum mutata nullo telo interfici possit. huic cum Pirithous Ixionis filius...nuptui interesset ducta Hippodamia et Eurytus inter Centauros vino incitatus in nuptam novam impetum fecisset, ceteri prosiluere Lapithae atque Centauri nuptias frequentantes. ideoque caedes cum maxima esset exorta plurimique ex utraque parte ob raptum matronarum concidissent et quod inviolabilis ille restaret, ab universis, qui ex caede reliqui fuerunt, novissime impetu facto congestisque in eum arborum truncis spiritum reddere coactum. tamen non immemor deus Neptunu, a quo specisum munus acceperat, supradictum in volucrem nominis sui transfiguravit. 

Lactantius Placidus [5^th or 6^th century CE] is the name of the author attributed to a prose summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but little is known about the author or his time period.

Palaephatus on the "Impossible" Myth of Caeneus, Peri Apiston XI

 It is important to note that Palaephatus does not challenge Caeneus' gender, only his invulnerability.

They say that Caeneus was invulnerable. However, you’re an idiot if you think he couldn’t get wounded by iron. Here’s the truth: Caeneus was a Thessalian man who was mighty and skilled in the art of war. Although he fought in many battles, he was never wounded.  Even when he died battling the Centaurs on behalf of the Lapiths, he was crushed to death by rocks, not iron. When the Lapiths recovered his body, they found no wounds on him, and so they said that “he was invulnerable in life, as well as in death.”

Caenea invulnerabilem omnino fuisse aiunt. Quicumque, autem hoc ad credendum suscipit, quod homo quispiam ferro invulnerabilis existat, amens hic reputandus est. Veritas itaque; sic se habet: Caeneus genere Thessalus, vir erat bellicis in rebus strenuus ac potens, pugnandique scientia praeditus, qui cum multis in bellis olim fuisset, nullo tamen unquam tempore vulneratus fuerat. Atque adeo cum Lapithis simul quandoque pugnans, a Centauris interfici nullo modo potuit, sed ab illis solii comprehensus cum fuisset, multitudine ullorum obrutus est, sicque consumptus fuit. Eius itaque defuncti Lapithae cadaver suscipientes, nullisque confossum vulneribus corpus invenientes, dicere consueverant. Caeneus cum alias toto suae vitae tempore invulnerabilis fuerit, itidem sine ullis nunc quoque vulneribus mortuus est.

Καινέα φασίν ότι άτρωτος ήν. όστις  δ υπολαμβάνει άτρωτον από σιδήρε άνθρωπον, ευήθης εςιν. η δε αλήθεια έχει έτως. Καινεύς ήν ανής Θετταλος τω γένει, αγαθός τα πολεμικά  και επισήμων τα μάχεσθαι . γενόμενος δε εν πολλαϊς μάχαις, έδέποτε ετρώθη, έτε Λαπίθαις συμμαχών πρός των Κενταυρων απέθανεν, αλλα συλλαβόντες αυτόν μόνον κατέχωσαν και ωτως έτε λέυτησεν.  έλεγον ων οι Λαπίθαι ανελόμενοι τον νεκρόν αυτέ, και ευρόντες μη τετρωμένον το σώμα, Καινεύς τόν γε άλλον βίον άτρωτος ήν, και απέθανεν άτρωτος.

--Palaephatus, Peri Apiston X, Translated into Latin by Phillip Phasiannus (1542)

Little is known about the life and time period of Palaephatus, but his book, On Unbelievable Tales, was a popular text in the ancient world. In this work, Palaephatus attempts to find logical explanations for popular Greek myths. Due to the high level of interest in the topic and the relatively straightforward grammar and syntax, Palaephatus’ work is a popular text for intermediate Ancient Greek classrooms.

The Many Lives and the Many Genders of Pythagoras: Lucian, Gallus 19-20

Name: Lucian Date: 125 – 180 CE Region: [modern Turkey] Citation:  The Rooster 19-20

 In his satire on Pythagorean philosophy, the author Lucian explores how Pythagoras' soul (now living as a rooster) has experienced a vast spectrum of existence--living as man and woman, Greek and Persian, person and animal, etc. It is important to note that despite the interviewer Mikyllos' cynical and mocking tone, he still follows proper etiquette:  using a person's appropriate pronouns, as well as being sure to not use the Rooster's dead name. 

M: Once you changed out of Pythagoras, what form did you take next?

Rooster: I was Aspasia, the Courtesan from Miletus.

M: Lol wut? You, Pythagoras, were a woman in your previous lives? Like, at one time, you, a noble rooster, were an egg-laying chicken? And you were Aspasia, who dated Pericles, and got pregnant by him? And you spun wool and then wove it into things? And then you put on makeup to go on dates?

Rooster: Of course I did. But I’m not the only one who did so; there’s also Tiresias before me, and Elatus’ kid* Caeneus. Don’t give me a hard time for it, if you’re cool with them.

M: So, like, which life did you like better? When you were a man, or when you were married to Pericles?

Rooster: Watch out what kind of question you’re asking me—that’s the question that got Tiresias in trouble**.

M: Well, if you don’t say it, Euripides explained it in one of his tragedies. He said that he would prefer to go into battle three times than to give birth once.

Rooster: May I remind you, o Mikyllos, that one day you will be a woman who gives birth; it’ll happen often enough as time goes on.

M: Watch your neck, bird! Do you think that everyone comes from Miletus or Samos?   So, like, they often say that Pythagoras looked good, and Aspasia was good looking in the eyes of her tyrant lover. After Aspasia, were you a man or a woman next?

Rooster: I was the Cynic philosopher Crates.

M: OMG, what a difference! From a hot courtesan to a philosopher***!

Rooster: Then I was a king, then a beggar, then a Persian Satrap, then a horse, then a bird, then a frog, then a bunch of other things, too many to remember, but most recently, a rooster. I like being a rooster the most. I’ve been all these things, and now that I live with you, I think it’s laughable that you admire the rich and worry about poverty—you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you only knew the struggle the wealthy had, you wouldn’t think you’d instantly be happy if you were rich.

M: So, Pythagoras—or what do you wish to be called? So I won’t get mixed up calling you one thing after another.

Rooster: It doesn’t matter. Whether you call me Euphorbus or Pythagoras, or Aspasia, or Crates, I am all of them.  But it might be easier if you just call me “Rooster,” but don’t think that this “paltry poultry” doesn’t contain many souls.

 

 

* Lucian uses the gender neutral term παῖς [“kid / child,” instead of “son” or “daughter”], respecting Caeneus’ gender change by deliberately not using a gendered word.

 

** According to myth, Tiresias was blinded when Zeus and Hera asked him to decide whether men or women enjoyed physical romance more

 

*** Cynic rejected society’s obsession with appearance and beauty, and dressed plainly

19] πατῶν ἀπολιμπάνοις. ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετ᾽ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν

 

Μίκυλλος

φεῦ τοῦ λόγου, καὶ γυνὴ γὰρ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ Πυθαγόρας ἐγένετο, καὶ ἦν ποτε χρόνος ὅτε καὶ σὺ ᾠοτόκεις, ὦ ἀλεκτρυόνων γενναιότατε, καὶ συνῆσθα Περικλεῖ Ἀσπασία οὖσα καὶ ἐκύεις ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρια ἔξαινες καὶ κρόκην κατῆγες καὶ ἐγυναικίζου ἐς τὸ ἑταιρικόν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

πάντα ταῦτα ἐποίουν οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τειρεσίας πρὸ ἐμοῦ καὶ ὁ Ἐλάτου παῖς ὁ Καινεύς, ὥστε ὁπόσα ἂν ἀποσκώψῃς εἰς ἐμὲ, καὶ εἰς ἐκείνους ἀποσκώψας ἔσῃ.

 

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

 

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρ᾽ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκ ἀπάγξῃ, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, ἅπαντας οἰόμενος Μιλησίους ἢ Σαμίους εἶναι; σὲ γοῦν φασι καὶ Πυθαγόραν ὄντα τὴν ὥραν λαμπρὸν πολλάκις 20] Ἀσπασίαν γενέσθαι τῷ τυράννῳ. — τίς δὲ δὴ μετὰ τὴν Ἀσπασίαν ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνὴ αὖθις ἀνεφάνης;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁ κυνικὸς Κράτης.

 

Μίκυλλος

' Ὢ Διοσκόρω τῆς ἀνομοιότητος, ἐξ ἑταίρας φιλόσοφος.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτα βασιλεύς, εἶτα πένης, καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγον σατράπης, εἶτα ἵππος καὶ κολοιὸς καὶ βάτραχος καὶ ἄλλα μυρία μακρὸν ἂν γένοιτο καταριθμήσασθαι ἕκαστα: τὰ τελευταῖα δὲ ἀλεκτρυὼν πολλάκις, ἥσθην γὰρ τῷ τοιούτῳ βίῳ. καὶ παρὰ πολλοῖς [p. 214] ἄλλοις δουλεύσας καὶ πένησι ^ καὶ πλουσίοις, τὰ τελευταῖα καὶ σοὶ νῦν σύνειμι καταγελῶν ὁσημέραι ποτνιωμένου καὶ οἰμώζοντος ἐπὶ τῇ πενίᾳ καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους θαυμάζοντος ὑπ᾽ ἀγνοίας τῶν ἐκείνοις προσόντων κακῶν. εἰ γοῦν ᾔδεις τὰς φροντίδας ἃς ἔχουσιν, ἐγέλας ἂν ἐπὶ σαυτῷ πρῶτον οἰηθέντι ὑπερευδαίμονα εἶναι τὸν πλοῦτον.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Πυθαγόρα — καίτοι τί μάλιστα χαίρεις καλούμενος, ὡς μὴ ἐπιταράττοιμι τὸν λόγον ἄλλοτε ἄλλον καλῶν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

διοίσει μὲν οὐδὲν ἤν τε Εὔφορβον ἢ ^ Πυθαγόραν, ἤν τε Ἀσπασίαν καλῇς ἢ Κράτητα: πάντα γὰρ ἐγὼ ταῦτά εἰμι. πλὴν τὸ νῦν ὁρώμενον τοῦτο ἀλεκτρυόνα ὀνομάζων ἄμεινον ἂν ποιοῖς, ὡς μὴ ἀτιμάζοις εὐτελὲς εἶναι δοκοῦν τὸ ὄρνεον, καὶ ταῦτα τοσαύτας ἐν αὑτῷ ψυχὰς ἔχον.

MICYLLUS: Verum ubi Pythagoram exueras, quem post eum induisti?

GALLUS: Aspasiam Miletensem illam meretricem.

MICYLLUS: Papae! Quid ego audio? Siquidem inter alia mulier quoque fuit Pythagoras. Itane fuit aliquando tempus, quo tu Galle generosissime ova pariebas, cumque Pericle rem habebas, iam Aspasia videlicet, atque ex illo gravida facta es? Praeterea lanam tondebas, tramamque ducebas? Postremo meretricum in morem gestiebas, vultumque componebas?

GALLUS: Ista quidem omnia feci, tametsi non ego solus: verum & ante me tum Tiresias, tum Elati proles Caeneus. Proinde quicquid in me convitii dixeris, tantumdem et in illos dixeris.

MICYLLUS: Age igitur, utra tibi vita erat suavior, quum vir esses, an quum Pericles tecum haberet consuetudinem?

GALLUS: Vides cuiusmodi isthuc est quod percontaris? nempe cui ne Tiresiae quidem expedierit respondere.

MICYLLUS: Atqui si minus fateare tu, tamen isthuc Euripides fatis explicuit, quum ait se malle ter sub clipeo consistere, quam parere semel.

GALLUS: Immo praemoneo te paulo post puerperam fore: siquidem & tu mulier es olim futurus, idque; saepius, longo nimirum saeculorum orbe atque recursu.

MICYLLUS: Non tu pendebis O Galle, qui quidem omneis mortales Milesios aut Samios esse ducas? Nam aiunt te etiam tum quum Pythagoras esses, venusta forma decorum, saepius Aspasiam fuisse tyrano. Verum age, secundum Aspasiam in quem virum aut mulierem denuo renatus es?

GALLUS: In Cratetem Cynicum.

MICYLLUS: O Castor, O Pollux, quam dissimile! ex scorto philosophus?

GALLUS: Deinde rex: deinde pauper: paulo post satrapes: dehinc equus, graculus, rana, aliaque innumerabilia, perlongum enim fuerit singula recensere. Postremo gallus, atque id saepius, nam hoc vitae genere sum delectatus. Interea & aliis diversis mortalibus servivi, regibus, pauperibus, divitibus; postremo nun tecum vivo, rideoque quotidie, quum video te pauperitatis taedio complorantem, eiulantemque, ac divitum admirantem fortunas, propterea quod ignores quantum illis adsit malorum. Alioqui si curas noris quibus illi distringuntur teipsum profecto riseris, qui antea credideris, eum qui sit opulentus, statim felicissimum esse omnium.

MICYLLUS: Ergo Pythagora, aut quod maxime gaudeas appellari, ne confundam orationem, si te nunc hoc, nunc illo nomine compellem.

GALLUS: Nihil intererit, sive Euphorbum, sive Pythagoram, sive vocaris Aspasia, sive Craterem, quandoquidem ista omnium sum unus: nisi quod rectius feceris, si id quod impraesentiarum esse video. Gallum me voces, ne avem hanc parui ducere contenereque videare, praesertim quum tam multas contineat animas.

Translated into Latin by Erasmus of Rotterdam

 Lucian [Lucianus Samosatensis; 125 – 180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman satirist from Samosata [modern Turkey] who wrote in ancient Greek. His works are a mixture of sarcasm, wit, and biting social criticism. He is without a doubt one of the most popular authors of the later Roman empire.

A Miraculous Bird and Her Miraculous Zookeeper, Ausonius Epig. 45

A Miraculous Bird and Her Miraculous Zookeeper

Name:  Ausonius Date:  4th century CE Region:  Aquitania, Gaul [modern France] Citation: Epigram 76

It is important to note that the Romans did not necessarily differentiate between trans and intersex people; the term androgynus was used as an umbrella term.

 

At Valbone (an unusual occurrence

That would scarcely be believed from poets,

But which is alleged by a historian)

A male bird turned into a female bird;

A peacock became a peahen right before our eyes!

Everyone marveled at the omen,

But a girl, softer than a lamb, announced with her maiden’s voice:

“You goofballs, why are so amazed by this marvel?

 Haven’t you read the poems of Ovid[1]?

Saturn’s offspring Consus[2] changed Caeneus, 

And Tiresias was gender-fluid.

The Salmacis spring saw the intersex Hermaphroditus;

Pliny saw an intersex person get married,

And, more recently, in Beneventum,

One young man suddenly became a young woman!

But nevermind these old stories,

I myself am a woman, though born a boy.”

---

[1] A reference to The Metamorphoses.

[2] Poseidon/Neptune, not Consus, is usually associated with the myth of Caeneus.

Latin Text: 

Vallebanae (nova res et vix credenda poetis,)

sed quae de vera promitur historia)

femineam in speciem convertit masculus ales

pavaque de pavo constitit ante oculos.

Cuncti admirantur monstrum, sed mollior agna...

[Talia virginea voce puella refert:]

“Quid stolidi ad speciem notae novitatis hebetis?

An vos Nasonis carmina non legitis?

Caenida convertit proles Saturnia Consus

ambignoque fuit corpore Tiresias.

Vidit semivirum fons Salmacis Hermaphroditum:

vidit nubentem Plinius Androgynum

nec satis antiquum, quod Campana in Benevento

unus epheborum virgo repente fuit.

Nolo tamen veteris documenta arcesse famae.

Ecce ego sum factus femina de puero.”  

Ausonius [Decimus Magnus Ausonius; 310 – 395 CE, modern France] was a Roman poet from Aquitania, Gaul who lived during the 4th century CE. He is best known for his epic poem Mosella, which describes the Moselle River, and his Epistles, a series of literary poems between himself and the Christian poet Paulinus.

Caeneus, Trans Warrior King and Conqueror of Centaurs, Acusilaus fr. 22

The Warrior King Caeneus

Name: Acusilaus Date:   6th century BCE Region:    Argos [modern Greece] Citation:   fragment 22 / P. Oxy.13.1611

Acusilaus says the following about Caeneus: Poseidon slept with Caenis, the child of Elatus. Not being able to bear a child for him or anyone else, Poseidon made him an invincible man, having  the greatest strength of all mankind, nor could anyone pierce him with iron or bronze, or anything else. And so he became king of the Lapiths, and fought against the Centaurs.

λέγει γὰρ περὶ Καινέα̣  οὕτως· Καινῆι δὲ τῆι  ʼΕλάτου μίσγεται Ποσι- δῶν. ἔπειτα οὐ γὰρ ἦν αὐτῆι ἰσ̣τ̣ὸν παῖδας  τεκνὲ̣ν οὔτ’ ἐξ̣  ἐκείνου οὔτ’ ἐξ ἄλλου οὐ δενός, ποιεῖ αὐτὸν Πο- σε̣δέων ἄνδρα ἄτρω- τον̣, ἰ̣σχύν ἔχοντα μεγ̣ί- στη̣ν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τότε, καὶ ὅτε τις αὐ- τὸν κεντοίη σιδερῶι ἢ χαλκῶι, ἠλίσκετο μά- λιστα χρημάτων. καὶ γίγνεται βασιλεὺς οὗ- τος Λαπιθέων καὶ τοῖς Κενταύροις πολεμεεσκε.

Haec fabula de Caeneo [ab Acusilaeo historico] fertur: Neptunum Caenidi, Elati proli, miscuisse. Quae nec illo nec cuiquam filios gignere nequiens, in virum atrotum & ex omnibus fortissimum a Neptuno transformatus, nec ferro nec aere nec telo alio vulnerari potuit. Deinde Caeneus Rex Lapithorum factus, et Centaurisque bellum ingessit. Translated into Latin by Kris Masters

Acusilaus of Argos [6th century BCE, modern Greece] Little is known about the life or works of Acusilaus, but he is thought to be a mythographer from the 6th century BCE. Only fragments of his work remain.

Caeneus: A Trans Warrior Battling Centaurs, Apollodorus Epitome xxii

Name: [Pseudo]Apollodorus Date:   1st – 2nd century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:    Library Epitome 22

Caeneus was originally a woman, but after being attacked by Poseidon, asked to become an invulnerable man. Therefore, when he was battling the centaurs, he slew many of them without receiving any injury himself, until finally the remaining centaurs surrounded him and drove him into the earth with fir trees. 

Caeneus, virgo ab Neptuno compressa, petiit ut vir fieret, et atrotus*; et sic evenit. Qui cum pugnaret contra centauros, multos se incolumi interfecit; tandem reliqui centaurorum eum circumstantes abietibus in terram compresserunt et suffocaverunt.

ὅτι Καινεὺς πρότερον ἦν γυνή, συνελθόντος δὲ αὐτῇ Ποσειδῶνος ᾐτήσατο ἀνὴρ γενέσθαι ἄτρωτος: διὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Κενταύρους μάχῃ τραυμάτων καταφρονῶν πολλοὺς τῶν Κενταύρων ἀπώλεσεν, οἱ δὲ λοιποί, περιστάντες αὐτῷ, ἐλάταις τύπτοντες ἔχωσαν εἰς γῆν.

atrotus, a, um (ἄτρωτος ): unwounded, invulnerable 

--Apollodorus, Epitome I.22; Translated into Latin by K. Masters

  Apollodorus [1st – 2nd century CE] is the name of the author of a famous collection of myths called the Bibliotheca / Library. Little is known about the author’s background or history.

The Death of Caeneus, Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.459-531

Name:     Ovid Date:       43 BCE – 17 CE Region:   Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Metamorphoses 12.459-531

In some versions of this myth, Caeneus is a warrior in the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs; in other versions of the myth, he is a member of the next generation, and joins Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece as an Argonaut.  The following is an aristeia, an element of epic poetry which focuses on one particular hero’s battle exploits.

Nestor explains the exploits of Caeneus to Achilles and his other allies:

Nestor explains the exploits of Caeneus to Achilles and his other allies:

Caeneus brought down five centaurs: Styphelus, Bromus, Antimachus, Elymus, and ax-wielding Pyracmon; I don’t remember how they died, but I do remember their names.

Latreus, wearing the armor of Halesus (the warrior he had just slain), next advanced upon Caeneus. He was huge, with giant limbs and torso. He was in the prime of his life—not too young, not too old—he was still young, but with gray hair on his temples. He stood out with his Macedonian lance, his shield and helmet. Scanning both sides of the battle, he struck his shield with his lance and doing little prance, taunted:

“Hey little girl, will I put up with you? For you will always be a woman to me, you will always be my Caenis [dead name]. Doesn’t your gender assigned at birth [natalis origo] keep you in check, don’t you remember [mentem subit] the rape that caused you to be rewarded with the fake form of a man? Look at what you were born to be, or the rape that you suffered, and go back to your loom. Pluck your woolen thread with your thumb. Leave war for the men.”

While he was boasting this, Caeneus struck him in the side with his spear, and hit the centaur where the man and horse were fused. Maddened by pain, the centaur hit him point-blank in the face, but the weapon bounced right off of him, like hail bounces off a rooftop, or a rock skipping on the head of a drum.

They fought hand-to-hand, and the centaur tried to stab him in the side with his sword, but the sword could not pierce Caeneus.

“You won’t escape! Although my point of my blade is dull, I’ll still slit your throat with my sword-edge!” Saying this, the centaur twisted to the side and struck his groin. The blow made the sound as if hitting marble; as it struck Caeneus’ skin, the blade shattered.

Caeneus revealed his unwounded limbs to the shocked centaur and replied, “Now it’s my turn to try my blade against your flesh!” He thrust his sword into the centaur’s torso and twisted it through his guts, making wound upon wound.

With an immense shout, the centaurs rallied and all threw their weapons to one target. Their weapons fell away blunted; although bloodied, Caeneus remained unharmed from every wound.

The centaurs stood there, thunderstruck. Monychus cursed, “Such a disgrace—to be overcome by someone barely one man [ab uno vixque viro]! Although he is a man, we are what he was [i.e., women] by our lack of gumption!  What benefit do our huge limbs give us? Don’t our dual natures give us twice the strength? I guess a goddess didn’t birth us, I guess we’re not children of Ixion, who dared to hit on Juno—we’re defeated by a half-man [semimari…ab hoste]! Toss trees and boulders and even entire mountains on him! Throw the forest down over his head—let’s bury him alive, and he will suffocate!”

He finished speaking and, with immense strength, he grabbed a tree that was felled by the wind, and it struck his mighty enemy. This was the example they needed, and in a short amount of time, Othrys was empty of trees, and so was Pelion.

Caeneus was overwhelmed by such immense weight, and struggled under the weight of the trees heaped upon him that went up to his shoulders. But when the pile covered his face and mouth, and he could no longer breathe, his strength failed him as he tried in vain to lift the pile off of him. The heap moved then the way that we see Mt. Ida shake.

I’m not sure how he died. Some say the weight of the rocks killed him; but Mopsus doesn’t think so. He saw a bird flying up from the pile. I saw it, too—the first and only time I saw such a bird.  When Mopsus saw it swoop over our camp, giving a mighty caw, he watched it attentively and addressed it, saying,

“Hail, Caeneus, glory of the Lapiths! Once you were the mightiest of men, and now you are a rare bird!”

Quinque neci Caeneus dederat Styphelumque Bromumque
Antimachumque Elymumque securiferumque Pyracmon:               460
vulnera non memini, numerum nomenque notavi.
provolat Emathii spoliis armatus Halesi,
quem dederat leto, membris et corpore Latreus
maximus: huic aetas inter iuvenemque senemque,
vis iuvenalis erat, variabant tempora cani.               465
qui clipeo galeaque Macedoniaque sarisa
conspicuus faciemque obversus in agmen utrumque
armaque concussit certumque equitavit in orbem
verbaque tot fudit vacuas animosus in auras:
"et te, Caeni, feram? nam tu mihi femina semper,               470
tu mihi Caenis eris. nec te natalis origo
commonuit, mentemque subit, quo praemia facto
quaque viri falsam speciem mercede pararis?
quid sis nata, vide, vel quid sis passa, columque,
i, cape cum calathis et stamina pollice torque;               475
bella relinque viris." iactanti talia Caeneus
extentum cursu missa latus eruit hasta,
qua vir equo commissus erat. furit ille dolore
nudaque Phyllei iuvenis ferit ora sarisa:
non secus haec resilit, quam tecti a culmine grando,               480
aut siquis parvo feriat cava tympana saxo.
comminus adgreditur laterique recondere duro
luctatur gladium: gladio loca pervia non sunt.
"haut tamen effugies! medio iugulaberis ense,
quandoquidem mucro est hebes" inquit et in latus ensem               485
obliquat longaque amplectitur ilia dextra.
plaga facit gemitus ut corpore marmoris icto,
fractaque dissiluit percusso lammina callo.
ut satis inlaesos miranti praebuit artus,
"nunc age" ait Caeneus "nostro tua corpora ferro               490
temptemus!" capuloque tenus demisit in armos
ensem fatiferum caecamque in viscera movit
versavitque manum vulnusque in vulnere fecit.
ecce ruunt vasto rabidi clamore bimembres
telaque in hunc omnes unum mittuntque feruntque.               495
tela retusa cadunt: manet inperfossus ab omni
inque cruentatus Caeneus Elateius ictu.
fecerat attonitos nova res. "heu dedecus ingens!"
Monychus exclamat. "populus superamur ab uno
vixque viro; quamquam ille vir est, nos segnibus actis,               500
quod fuit ille, sumus. quid membra inmania prosunt?
quid geminae vires et quod fortissima rerum
in nobis natura duplex animalia iunxit?
nec nos matre dea, nec nos Ixione natos
esse reor, qui tantus erat, Iunonis ut altae               505
spem caperet: nos semimari superamur ab hoste!
saxa trabesque super totosque involvite montes
vivacemque animam missis elidite silvis!
massa premat fauces, et erit pro vulnere pondus."
dixit et insanis deiectam viribus austri               510
forte trabem nactus validum coniecit in hostem
exemplumque fuit, parvoque in tempore nudus
arboris Othrys erat, nec habebat Pelion umbras.
obrutus inmani cumulo sub pondere Caeneus
aestuat arboreo congestaque robora duris               515
fert umeris, sed enim postquam super ora caputque
crevit onus neque habet, quas ducat, spiritus auras,
deficit interdum, modo se super aera frustra
tollere conatur iactasque evolvere silvas
interdumque movet, veluti, quam cernimus, ecce,               520
ardua si terrae quatiatur motibus Ide.
exitus in dubio est: alii sub inania corpus
Tartara detrusum silvarum mole ferebant;
abnuit Ampycides medioque ex aggere fulvis
vidit avem pennis liquidas exire sub auras,               525
quae mihi tum primum, tunc est conspecta supremum.
hanc ubi lustrantem leni sua castra volatu
Mopsus et ingenti circum clangore sonantem
adspexit pariterque animis oculisque secutus
"o salve," dixit "Lapithaeae gloria gentis,               530
maxime vir quondam, sed nunc avis unica, Caencu!"
credita res auctore suo est: dolor addidit iram,
oppressumque aegre tulimus tot ab hostibus unum;
nec prius abstitimus ferro exercere dolorem,
quam data pars leto, partem fuga noxque removit.'               535

Ovid [Publius Ovidius Naso; 43 BCE – 17 CE, modern Italy] was one of the most famous love poets of Rome’s Golden Age. His most famous work, the Metamorphoses, provides a history of the world through a series of interwoven myths. Most of his poetry is erotic in nature; for this reason, he fell into trouble during the conservative social reforms under the reign of the emperor Augustus. In 8 CE he was banished to Bithynia [modern Turkey], where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.