A new woven piece I’ve been working on which was inspired by the story of the warrior Caeneus from Greek mythology.
Caeneus was born female but was granted his wish to become a man by the sea god Poseidon, so he could be interpreted as transgender.
And while the circumstances that lead to Poseidon granting his wish are probably not ideal – (trigger warning here for SA in some versions if you look this story up) – I am nonetheless fascinated by this tale of gender transition from ancient Greece.
Caeneus went on to lead a happy, celebrated life as a man, becoming a great warrior (Poseidon also granted him invunerable skin).
Alas, he was ultimately killed by centaurs who pummeled him into the ground with tree trunks. But, it was believed he transformed into a phoenix at the moment of his death. A tale of transitions indeed.
I wanted to show in this weaving the weapons and armour of Caeneus contrasted against a woven background, to represent the transistion from female to male, as weaving was considered a woman’s activity in ancient Greece, whereas war was associated with men.
I chose mostly blues for the background to symbolise the sea, but also added white and pink to represent the trans flag colours.
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