Cenotaph (κενο-τάφιον, i. e. an empty tomb). A monument raised to a Roman citizen who had been drowned at sea, or who, from any other cause, failed to receive burial.
Censer. A sacred vessel used for burning perfumes.
Fig. 146. Centaur.
Centaur (κένταυρος, according to some, from κεντέω and ταῦρος, i. e. herdsman; but prob. simply from κεντέω, i. e. Piercer or Spearman). The Centaurs are represented with the body of a horse, and bust, head, and arms of a man. (Fig. [146].) In Christian archæology, the Centaur is a symbol of the swift passage of life, the force of the instincts, and in a special sense, of adultery. The war of the Centaurs and the Lapithæ is the subject of the frieze at the British Museum, from a temple of Apollo in Arcadia. Hippo-centaurs were half horse; Onocentaurs, half ass; and Bucentaurs or Tauro-centaurs, half ox.
Fig. 147. Centaur and young.
Cento (κέντρων, patchwork). A covering made of different scraps of cloth, and used as clothing for slaves. The same term denotes a coarse cloth which was placed beneath the saddle of a beast of burden, to keep the back of the animal from being galled by the saddle. In Christian archæology the term was used to denote a coarse patchwork garment, and, by analogy, a poem composed of verses taken from various authors, like the Cento nuptialis of Ausonius.
Centunculus (dimin. of Cento, q.v.). A motley garment of various colours, like that of our harlequin. It was worn, according to Apuleius, by the actors who played in burlesques, and there are certain vases on which Bacchus is represented, arrayed in a similar costume.
Cepotaphium (κηπο-τάφιον). A tomb situated in a garden.