In late Classical Greek art, an ichthyocentaur () was a

centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

ine sea being with the upper body of a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

, the lower anterior half and forelegs of a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

, and the tailed posterior half of a

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

. The earliest example dates to the 2nd century BC, among the

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

s in the

Pergamon Altar The Pergamon Altar () was a monumental construction built during the reign of the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek King Eumenes II of the Kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamon Empire in the first half of the 2nd century BC on one of the terraces of the ac ...

. There are further examples of Aphros () and/or Bythos (), the personifications of the sea's foam and abyss respectively, depicted as ichthyocentaurs in

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s. The term ''ichthyocentaur'' is of late coinage, attributable to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

writer

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes (; , Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancien ...

in the 12th century, and thus they are also referred as sea-

Nomenclature

Origin

"Ichthyocentaur" is not a term in the vocabulary of

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

at all. The word's earliest known use occurs in the 12th century by Ioannes Tzetzes in his commentary ''On

Lycophron Lycophron ( ; ; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and miscellaneous works He was born at Chalcis in Euboea, a ...

'', 34 and may have been coined by him.

Meaning

Ichthyocentaur is a Triton represented as having the fore-legs of a horse, rather than just having a fish-like lower-body. Ichthyocentaur comes from two different words, ''ichthyo-'' and ''centaur''. ''Ichthyo-'' is an adjective stem from Greek () "fish"; ''

'', from Greek (), a creature from classical mythology that has a man's upper body attached to a horse's body and legs.

Synonyms

The term or its equivalent in other European languages (, plural: ; ) has been used in classical art commentary in the modern age, and vernacular terms such as "sea-centaur" (; ) have also been interchangeably applied. Henri van de Waal (1976) placed "ichthyocentaur", "centaurotriton", and "sea-centaur" in the same iconographic group or

iconclass Iconclass is a specialized library classification designed for classifying the subjects and content of images in art (their iconography). It was originally conceived by the Dutch art historian Henri van de Waal in the 1970s, and was further develo ...

synonymous treatment of these terms are also seen in archaeological papers. Centaur-Tritons is another name for ichthyocentaurs, noted in a 19th-century reference.

Greek art

The earliest datable depiction of an ichthyocentaur is found in the relief sculptures of the

(2nd century BC), although the inscription labels the figure as a " Triton". The ichthyocentaur in this relief sculpture has wings on its back; these wings are of a peculiar type which are lined with either seaweed or sea creature parts instead of feathers. Ichthyocentaurs are sometimes portrayed with a pair of pincered arms (similar to a

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

's clawed arms) emerging out of their heads.

Aphros and Bythos

Zeugma mosaics

A " Birth of Venus (Aphrodite)" mosaic unearthed at Zeugma, Turkey shows Aphrodite emerging from a shell, supported by two "sea-centaurs", construed as special names for Tritons, according to a paper published by the leader of the French excavation team. The mosaics bear inscriptions, identifying the sea-centaurs as Aphros ("Sea-Foam",

personified Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, countries, and continents; elements of ...

) and Bythos ("Sea-Depths"). The Aphros is shown with a pair of lobster-like appendages growing out of his head, as is Bythos (see images). In the Zeugma mosaic, the elder-looking triton is labeled Aphros and the youthful-looking one is called Bythos, which is contrary to convention seen in other examples. This mosaic dates to the 3rd century CE, and is now part of the Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology's collection, now housed in the annex named the Zeugma Mosaic Museum.

Apamea, Paphos and others

In the marine procession mosaic found underneath a cathedral at

Apamea, Syria Apamea (, ''Apameia''; ), on the right bank of the Orontes river, Orontes River, was an ancient Greek and Roman city. It was the capital of Apamene under the Macedonians, became the capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric of late Roman province R ...

(c. 362–363 CE), there is an Aphros in ichthyocentaur form. This Aphros (identified by inscription) is depicted as a youthful triton with lobster-like antennae on its head and hair of seaweed. Bythos also appears in the same group; he evidently appears old-aged and the commentator remarks this is none other than the " Old Man of the Sea". ZyPaphos07

The

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

mosaic depicts Bythos alone carrying the nereid

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

along with two other nereids, Doris and Galateia. The two sea gods also appear in a pair of matching sculptures (belonging to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

and

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

) depicting them carrying silen companions of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

after his company was driven into the sea by King Lycurgus of Thrace.

Aphros in glosses

Aphros is glossed as a king of

Ancient Libya During the Iron Age and Classical antiquity, ''Libya'' (from Greek :wikt:Λιβύη, Λιβύη: ''Libyē'', which came from Berber language, Berber: ''Libu'') referred to the area of North Africa directly west of the Nile, Nile river (Modern day ...

and the progenitor of the Aphroi (or

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

) according to the entry in the

lexicon, the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

''."", ''Suda On Line", tr. Jennifer Benedict. 5 June 2001. A mosaic uncovered in Tunisia confirms this belief; it depicts a pair of African sea gods swimming alongside Poseidon's chariot—one is the ichthyocentaur Aphros and the other a twin-tailed Triton, god of the Libyan

Lake Tritonis Lake Tritonis () was a large body of fresh water in North Africa that was described in many ancient texts. Classical-era Greek writers placed the lake in Ancient Libya. In details of the late myths and personal observations related by these hist ...

. The ''Suda'' also states this Aphros was the son of Cronos and Philyra. This matches the parentage of the centaur

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

, who was the son of the

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

Cronos and the nymph Philyra ('' Bibliotheke'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus 1.2) from which it might be deduced this Aphros and Chiron were siblings. Aphros was perhaps regarded as Aphrodite's foster-father, given their similarity in names.

Other examples

The monochrome

Ishthmia (2nd century CE or later), included an ichthyocentaur-form Triton on the upper panel and a winged-form Triton on the lower; both these beardless Tritons were depicted with a pair of what look like

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

pincers growing out of their heads. A pair of marine thiasos

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

fragments in

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

have been described, such that in one fragment, are two tritons, one of them an ichthyocentaur. The ichthyocentaur here is beardless, and bears a ribboned trident. A pair of sea crayfish (lobster) feet or pincers sprout from each triton's head. In the second fragment, a youthful ichthyocentaur proceeds ahead of a mounted Venus marina; the ichthyocentaur holds two objects difficult to identify.

Literary examples

One late literary example that has been noted is the poem by Claudian (d. 404), the ''

Epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' "nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This fo ...

'' for the wedding of Honorius and Maria, in which Venus rides Triton on her back as her whole procession heads for the wedding. Here Triton is described as follows "The dread monster uprose from the abyss; his billowing hair swept his shoulders; hoofs of cloven horn grown round with bristles sprang from where his fishy tail joined his man's body". Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher observed that this Triton (with cloven hooves) is being described as an ichthyocentaur subtype with a bull's forelegs.

Renaissance period

Conrad Gessner Conrad Gessner (; ; 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him t ...

's "sea-satyr" or "sea-Pan" was also described as an "ichthyocentaur" or "sea-devil" in his chapter on tritons in his '' Historia animalium IV'' (1558).Gesner, Konrad (1558) ''Historiae animalium'' , p. 1197; (1604 ed.
p. 1001
In the German translated edition, this creature is called "''Meerteuffel'' " or "sea devil".Gesner, Konrad (1558) , p. 153 This "marine daemon" (), with other names such as "sea Pan monster", "monstrous sea satyr" or "centaur-fish" has also been used on heraldic devices. via EEBO

Explanatory notes

References

;Citation ;Bibliography * * * * * * . , L'Erma di Bretschneider.

External links

Theoi Greek Mythology: IKHTHYOKENTAUROI
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20101216143542/http://mythindex.com/greek-mythology/I/Ichthyocentaurus.html GREEK MYTH INDEX: ICHTHYOCENTAURbr>The Metropolitan Museum of Art: WORKS OF ART: ASIAN ART: Marine Deity (Triton or Ichthyocentaur)
{{Authority control Centaurs Greek legendary creatures Mythological aquatic creatures Horses in mythology Mythological human–animal hybrids