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Homoeroticism is a prominent theme inGreco-Roman mythology, with many myths depictingintimate and romantic relationships between men. These are accompanied by related motifs such ascross-dressing,androgyny, and fluid expressions of gender and identity.
These myths have been described as being crucially influential on WesternLGBTQ+ literature, with the original myths being constantly re-published and re-written, and the relationships and characters serving as icons.[1] In comparison,lesbian relationships are rarely found in classical myths.[2]
Apollo, the god of music and prophecy, was often invoked to bless homosexual unions.[3]. Due to his numerous same sex relationships, in modern times he's considered a patron of homosexual love. Apollo was also called "the champion of male love" by Andrew Callimach.[4] Other gods are sometimes considered patrons of homosexual love between males, such as the love goddessAphrodite and gods in her retinue, such as theErotes:Eros,Himeros,Anteros andPothos.[5] Eros is also part of a trio of gods that played roles in homoerotic relationships, along withHeracles andHermes, who bestowed qualities of beauty (and loyalty), strength, and eloquence, respectively, onto male lovers.[6]Sappho's poetry contained strong devotion to Aphrodite as well as same sex love between women, leading to Aphrodite being identified as a patron goddess of lesbians.[7]
The gender-change theme also occurred in classical mythology. The reason for the transformation varies, as in the case ofSiproites (Σιπροίτης), a hunter fromCrete, who was transformed to a woman byArtemis after having seen the goddess bathing/nude.[67][68]
There was also a motif of a woman needing to disguise herself as a male and later being transformed into a biological male by mysterious forces (mainly thegods). In the cases ofIphis andLeucippus, the woman's mother was pressured (by her husband) to bear a male child so the protagonist was forced to impersonate a male from birth.[69] Later in life, manhood was "granted" through the blessing of a deity (Juno/Hera in Iphis' case andLeto in Leucippus').
Caeneus andMestra, each of whom was a mate of a god (Caeneus was a rape victim ofPoseidon/Neptune and Mestra was a lover of the same god), were granted manhood by the said god. Mestra, however, had the ability tochange her shape voluntarily, instead of staying in male form like Caeneus and other instances above.
Tiresias, on the other hand, became female because he struck a couple of copulating snakes, displeasingHera, who punished him by transforming Tiresias into a woman. Later the sentence was remitted, due to either trampling on the mating snakes or avoiding them, and he became male again. In another version, Tiresias' sex-change was caused by an argument betweenZeus and Hera, on which they debated whether a male or a female had greater pleasure insex, so they transformed him into a female to experiment.
According toLeah DeVun, a "traditionalHippocratic /Galenic model of sexual difference – popularized by the late antique physicianGalen and the ascendant theory for much of the Middle Ages – viewed sex as a spectrum that encompassed masculine men, feminine women, and many shades in between, including hermaphrodites, a perfect balance of male and female".[70] DeVun contrasts this with anArtistotelian view of intersex, which argued that "hermaphrodites were not an intermediate sex but a case of doubled or superfluous genitals", and this later influenced Aquinas.[70]
Hermaphroditus (also the namesake of the wordhermaphrodite), the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, is considered the god of hermaphrodites and intersex people. Hermaphroditus was depicted as a winged youth with both male and female features, that is, usually female thighs, breasts, and style of hair, and male genitalia.
Dionysus has been dubbed "a patron god of hermaphrodites and transvestites" by Roberto C. Ferrari in the 2002Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture.[71] He is referred to as effeminate, which is sometimes linked to his being dressed in girl's clothes during his childhood. InOrphic Hymn 41, the goddess Mise is referred to as an aspect of Dionysus, who is described as "male and female" (ἄρσενα καὶ θῆλυν).
Apollo was another god with effeminate features. His cheeks and chin are said to be soft and tender.[72][73] He was beardless and kept his hair long, giving him a feminine appearance. In one of his myths, he is mocked for draping himself in women's clothing, while his twin sisterArtemis was made fun of for appearing manly and rough.[74]
In addition to Dionysus/Mise, several gods are referred to as "both male and female" or "both female and male" in theOrphic Hymns, includingSelene,[75]Athena,[76] andAdonis.[77] In Cyprus and Athens, an aspect ofAphrodite with male genitals and in some cases a beard, calledAphroditos, was worshipped.Macrobius (c. 400s AD) wrote in hisSaturnalia, at 3.8.2:
There's also a statue ofVenus on Cyprus, that's bearded, shaped and dressed like a woman, withscepter and male genitals, and they conceive her as both male and female.Aristophanes calls her Aphroditus, andLaevius says: Worshipping, then, the nurturing god Venus, whether she is male or female, just as the Moon is a nurturing goddess. In hisAtthis,Philochorus, too, states that she is the Moon and that men sacrifice to her in women's dress, women in men's, because she is held to be both male and female.[78]
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