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Inancient Greek religion andmythology,Hermaphroditus (/hərˌmæfrəˈdaɪtəs/ ⓘ;Ancient Greek:Ἑρμαφρόδιτος,[hermapʰródi:tos]), is a child ofAphrodite andHermes. According toOvid, he was born a remarkably beautiful boy whom thenaiadSalmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed him into what is known today as someone who isintersex. His name is compounded of his parents' names, Hermes and Aphrodite,[1] and is the origin of the termhermaphrodite.
Because Hermaphroditus was a child of Hermes, and consequently a great-grandchild ofAtlas (Hermes's motherMaia was the daughter of Atlas), he is sometimes called Atlantiades (Greek:Ἀτλαντιάδης).[2]
Hermaphroditus, the two-sexed child of Aphrodite and Hermes (Venus andMercury), had long been a symbol ofandrogyny or effeminacy, and was portrayed in Greco-Roman art as a female figure with male genitals.[3]
Theophrastus's account also suggests a link between Hermaphroditus and the institution ofmarriage. The reference to the fourth day of the month is telling (see Literature section below): this is the luckiest day to have awedding. Hermaphroditus's association with marriage seems to have been that, by embodying both masculine and feminine qualities, he symbolized the coming together of men and women in sacred union. Another factor linking Hermaphroditus to weddings was his parents' role in protecting andblessingbrides.[4][5]
Hermaphroditus's name is derived from those of their parents Hermes and Aphrodite. All three of these gods figure largely amongerotic and fertility figures, and all possess distinctly sexual overtones. According toPhotius, Hermaphroditus is the same divinity asAphroditus, a version of Aphrodite which is considered male because of its phallic features.
Ovid's account relates that Hermaphroditus was nursed by naiads in the caves ofMount Ida,[6] a sacred mountain inPhrygia (present dayTurkey). At the age of fifteen, he grew bored with his surroundings and traveled to the cities ofLycia andCaria. It was in the woods of Caria, nearHalicarnassus (modernBodrum, Turkey) that he encountered thenymphSalmacis, in her pool. She was overcome by lust for the boy, who was very beautiful but still young, and tried to flirt with him, but was rejected. When he thought she had left, Hermaphroditus undressed and entered the waters of the empty pool.Salmacis sprang out from behind a tree and jumped into the pool. She wrapped herself around the youth, forcibly kissing him and touching his breast, attempting to rape him. While he struggled, she called out to the gods that they should never part. Her wish was granted, and their bodies blended into one form, "a creature of both sexes".[7] Hermaphroditus prayed to Hermes and Aphrodite that anyone else who bathed in the pool would be similarly transformed, and his wish was granted.
Hungarianclassical philologistKároly Kerényi wrote: "In this form the story was certainly not ancient". He related it to the Greek myths involving male youths (ephebes), noting the legends ofNarcissus andHyacinth, who had archaic hero-cults, and also those involvingHymen (Hymenaios).[8]
Diodorus Siculus, in his workLibrary of History, mentions that some say that Hermaphroditus is a god and appears at certain times among men, but there are some who declare that such creatures of two sexes are monstrosities, and coming rarely into the world as they do have the quality of presaging the future, sometimes for evil and sometimes for good.[9]
In a description found on the remains of a wall inHalicarnassus dated to around 2nd century BC, Hermaphroditus' mother, Aphrodite, names Salmacis as the nymph who nursed and took care of an infant Hermaphroditus after being placed in her care, a very different version than the one presented byOvid.[10]
The satirical authorLucian ofSamosata also implies that Hermaphroditus was born like that, rather than becoming later in life against his will, and blames it on the identity of the child's father, Hermes.[11]
The oldest traces of the cult in Greek countries are found inCyprus. Here, according toMacrobius (Saturnalia, iii. 8), there was a bearded statue of a male Aphrodite, calledAphroditus byAristophanes.Philochorus in hisAtthis (ap. Macrobiusloc. cit.) further identified this divinity, at whosesacrifices men and womenexchanged garments, with theMoon.[12][13] A terracotta plaque from the 7th century BC depicting Aphroditos, which was found inPerachora, suggests it was anarchaic Greek cult.[14]
The deification and the origins of the cult of Hermaphroditus beings stem from Eastern religions, where the hermaphrodite nature expressed the idea of a primitive being that united both sexes. This double sex also attributed toDionysus andPriapus – the union in one being of the two principles of generation and conception – denotes extensivefertilizing and productive powers.[12][15]
This Cyprian Aphrodite is the same as the later Hermaphroditos, which simply means Aphroditos in the form of aherma, and first occurs in theCharacters (16) ofTheophrastus.[16] After its introduction atAthens (probably in the 5th century BC), the importance of this deity seems to have declined. It appears no longer as the object of a special cult, but limited to the homage of certain sects, expressed by superstitious rites of obscure significance.[12]
We find inAlciphron that there was at Athens atemple of Hermaphroditus. The passage proposes that he might be considered as the deity who presided over married people; the strict union between husband and wife being aptly represented by a deity, who was male and female inseparably blended together.[17][clarification needed]
In theGreek Anthology, at the chapter in which describe the statues in theBaths of Zeuxippus, it also mentions and describes a statue of Hermaphroditus.[18]
The earliest mention of Hermaphroditus inGreek literature is by thephilosopherTheophrastus (3rd century BC), in his bookThe Characters, XVI The Superstitious Man,[19] in which he portrays various types of eccentric people.
Also on the fourth and seventh days of each month he will order his servants to mull wine, and go out and buy myrtle-wreaths, frankincense, and smilax; and, on coming in, will spend the day in crowning the Hermaphrodites.
The first mention of Hermes and Aphrodite as Hermaphroditus's parents was by theGreek historianDiodorus Siculus (1st century BC) in his bookBibliotheca historica, book IV, 4.6.5.
Hermaphroditus, as he has been called, who was born of Hermes and Aphrodite and received a name which is a combination of those of both his parents. Some say that this Hermaphroditus is a god and appears at certain times among men, and that he is born with a physical body which is a combination of that of a man and that of a woman, in that he has a body which is beautiful and delicate like that of a woman, but has the masculine quality and vigour of a man. But there are some who declare that such creatures of two sexes are monstrosities, and coming rarely into the world as they do they have the quality of presaging the future, sometimes for evil and sometimes for good.[20]
The only full narration of his myth is that ofOvid'sMetamorphoses, IV.274–388 (8 AD), where the emphasis is on the feminine snares of the lascivious water-nymph Salmacis and her compromising of Hermaphroditus' erstwhile budding manly strength, detailing his bashfulness and the engrafting of their bodies.[21]
A rendering of the story into anepyllion, published anonymously in 1602, was later (1640) attributed by some toFrancis Beaumont.[22]
Ausonius, in hisEpigramata de diversis rebus /Epigrams on various matters (4th century), also tells of Hermaphroditus' parentage and union with the nymph Salmacis.[23]
On Hermaphroditus and his Nature—By Mercury begotten, conceived by Cythera, Hermaphroditus, compound alike in name and frame, combining either sex, complete in neither, neutral in love, unable to enjoy either passion.
On the Union of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus—The nymph Salmacis grew one with the mate she desired. Ah, happy maid, if she is conscious of a man's embrace. And twice happy thou, O youth, united with a lovely bride, if one being may still be two.
In thePalatine Anthology, IX.783 (980 AD), there is a reference to a sculpture of Hermaphroditus which was placed in a bath for both sexes.[24] The passage IX.317 is in dialogue form, based on the dialogue between Hermaphroditus and Silenus. The latter claims that he has had sexual intercourse with Hermaphroditus three times. Hermaphroditus complains and objects to the fact by invoking Hermes in an oath, while Silenus invokes Pan for the reliability of his allegations.[25]
Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem "Hermaphroditus" inPoems and Ballads is subscribedAu Musée du Louvre, Mars 1863, leaving no doubt that it was theBorghese Hermaphroditus that had inspired his ode.[26]
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hermaphroditus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 367.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hermaphroditus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 367.
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