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Hermaphroditus

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Herculaneum fresco 1–50 AD, National Archaeological Museum, Naples

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hermaphroditus (/hərˌmæfrəˈdaɪtəs/ (About this soundlisten); Template:Langx, grc; sometimes conjugated with a feminine suffix as Hermaphrodite) is a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. Because Hermaphroditus was a child of Hermes, and consequently a great-grandchild of Atlas (Hermes' mother Maia was the daughter of Atlas), he is sometimes called Atlantiades (Template:Langx).[1] He has an androgynous body similar to that of an intersex person, and he is a minor romance deity symbolizing intersexuality, androgyny, and marriage.

Hermaphroditus is associated with the freshwater nymph Salmacis, who is represented variously as his nurse, wife, or attempted rapist. According to the Roman poet Ovid, he was born a remarkably beautiful endosex boy whom Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. The mystical forces of the universe merged their two forms into one and transformed him into a being of two sexes, both male and female. While popular in the modern day, this was a late story not represented in ancient Greek mythology.

Etymology

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Two origins are suggested for his name, either a compound of his parents' names,[2] or of herm and Aphrodite after herm statues used to represent Hermes.[3] In the latter version, he is still named in allusion to his father, but through his father's representation in sculpture rather than from his father's name.

His variant name Hermaphrodite is the origin of the term hermaphrodite, which is Hermaphroditus with a feminine suffix as in Aphrodite. Because ancient Greeks thought in terms of hypostasis where various abstract phenomena were personified with deities, they referred to literal intersex people with reference to the god, as a Hermaphrodite. This creates a problem for researchers, as it is sometimes difficult to discern when an ancient source speaks of intersex people themselves or the god representing them.

Symbolism

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Hermaphroditos, holding a torch and a kantharos, between Silenus (right) and maenad (left); Roman fresco from the triclinium of the procurator in the Casa del Centenario (IX 8,3–6) in Pompeii

Hermaphroditus had long been a symbol of androgyny or intersexuality, and was portrayed in Greco-Roman art as a female figure with male genitals,[4] resembling an intersex man with gynecomastia.

As a minor romance deity, he represents erotic love. As his name is associated with his parents Hermes and Aphrodite, he is especially associated with their qualities as erotic and fertility figures, with distinctly sexual overtones. While other minor romance deities represent complementary romantic concepts such as falling in love, passionate longing, and lust, Hermaphroditus represents the institution of marriage.[5]

In the version of myth where Salmacis is his wife, they represent the first marriage in the world, in contradiction of established myth holding Zeus and Hera as a previous marriage.[6] 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 and blessing brides.[7][8]

Mythology

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Further information: Salmacis and Salmacis (fountain)
File:NAVEZ Francois Joseph The Nymph Salmacis And Hermaphroditus.jpg
The Nymph Salmacis and Hermaphroditus by François-Joseph Navez (1829), based on Ovid's Metamorphoses

The earliest versions of Hermaphroditus were as Aphroditus, a masculine form of Aphrodite representing androgyny. When he became understood as a separate entity, he gained his own myths.

During the Hellenistic period, he and Salmacis were considered husband and wife and the first marriage. They were believed to live near Salmacis' spring near Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) and to have assisted in subjugating the indigenous Carians by cursing the spring waters to make men effeminate and reduce the Carian warrior spirit.[6]

In a description found on the remains of a wall in Halicarnassus 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.[9]

Later, in the Augustan Age, the Roman erotic poet Ovid wrote an origin myth depicting Hermaphroditus as an endosex young man who transforms into an androgynous figure as a tragic consequence of Salmacis attempting to rape him. Ovid relates that Hermaphroditus was nursed by naiads in the caves of Mount Ida,[10] a sacred mountain in Phrygia (present day Turkey). At the age of fifteen, he grew bored with his surroundings and traveled to the cities of Lycia and Caria. It was in the woods of Caria, near Halicarnassus that he encountered the nymph Salmacis in her pool. She was overcome by lust for the boy, who was very beautiful, and she 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".[11] Hermaphroditus prayed to Hermes and Aphrodite that anyone else who bathed in the pool would be similarly transformed, and his wish was granted. This suggests the origin to Salmacis' spring emasculating Carians.

While Ovid's descriptions of Greek myth in Metamorphoses was used as a guide to ancient traditions by Renaissance artists, who depicted depicted the scene in paintings, scholars suggest it did not have ancient origins and instead may have solely been of Ovid's own creation. Hungarian classical philologist Károly 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 of Narcissus and Hyacinth, who had archaic hero-cults, and also those involving Hymen (Hymenaios).[12] The satirical author Lucian of Samosata also implies that Hermaphroditus was born androgynous, rather than becoming so later in life against his will, Lucian blames it on the identity of the child's father, Hermes.[13]

Diodorus Siculus, in his work Library 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.[14]

As a minor romance deity, he is sometimes represented as in company with the Erotes, minor romance deities who serve as Aphrodite's retinue.[15]

Cult and worship

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Main article: Aphroditus
File:IAM 363T - Hermaphroditus statue.jpg
Hermaphroditus statue from Pergamum, Hellenistic, 3rd century BC (Istanbul)

The oldest traces of the cult in Greek countries are found in Cyprus. Here, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia, iii. 8), there was a bearded statue of a male Aphrodite, called Aphroditus by Aristophanes. According to Photius, Aphroditus and Hermaphroditus are the same god. Philochorus in his Atthis (ap. Macrobius loc. cit.) further identified Aphroditus, at whose sacrifices men and women exchanged garments, with the Moon.[16][17] A terracotta plaque from the 7th century BC depicting Aphroditos, which was found in Perachora, suggests it was an archaic Greek cult.[18]

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 to Dionysus and Priapus – the union in one being of the two principles of generation and conception – denotes extensive fertilizing and productive powers.[16][5]

The earliest reference to him is in the Characters (16) of Theophrastus.[19] After its introduction at Athens (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.[16]

We find in Alciphron that there was at Athens a temple of Hermaphroditus. The passage proposes that he might be considered as the deity who presided over married people.[20] The strict union between husband and wife would be aptly represented by a deity who was male and female inseparably blended together.[clarification needed]

In the Greek Anthology, at the chapter in which describe the statues in the Baths of Zeuxippus, it also mentions and describes a statue of Hermaphroditus.[21]

Literature

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File:Statue Group Satyr and Hermaphroditus.tif
Statue of a satyr and Hermaphroditus. Roman copy of the 2nd century CE, after a Hellenistic original of the 2nd century BCE. Antikensammlung Berlin (Altes Museum)

The earliest mention of Hermaphroditus in Greek literature is by the philosopher Theophrastus (3rd century BC), in his book The Characters, XVI The Superstitious Man,[22] 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.

This is likely a reference to Hermaphroditus' role as a marriage deity, as the fourth day of the month was considered the luckiest day to have a wedding.[citation needed]

The first mention of Hermes and Aphrodite as Hermaphroditus's parents was by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) in his book Bibliotheca 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.[23]

The only full narration of his myth is that of Ovid's Metamorphoses, 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.[24]

A rendering of the story into an epyllion, published anonymously in 1602, was later (1640) attributed by some to Francis Beaumont.[25]

Ausonius, in his Epigramata de diversis rebus / Epigrams on various matters (4th century), also tells of Hermaphroditus' parentage and union with the nymph Salmacis.[26]

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 the Palatine Anthology, IX.783 (980 AD), there is a reference to a sculpture of Hermaphroditus which was placed in a bath for both sexes.[27] 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.[28]

Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem "Hermaphroditus" in Poems and Ballads is subscribed Au Musée du Louvre, Mars 1863, leaving no doubt that it was the Borghese Hermaphroditus that had inspired his ode.[29]

In art

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File:Antonio Maria Zanetti - Study of a relief decorated with a Hermaphrodite; in the Palazzo Colonna.jpg
Drawing of a relief depicting Hermaphroditus and Eros crowning a herm by Antonio Maria Zanetti (c. 1721)
File:Hermaphroditus Louvre face.jpg
Borghese Hermaphroditus, Roman copy of the 2nd century AD (Louvre)

Paintings and engravings

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Sculpture

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Theatre

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  • Hermaphroditus is a now-lost third century BC Greek tragedy by Posidippus.[19]
  • The 1639 Italian opera La Delia features Hermaphroditus as a comedic minor character serving a role of secretary and informant for Jupiter, similar to the roles of eunuchs in the Byzantine Empire such as John the Orphanotrophos.[36] Along with Achilleid, it has been speculated to have inspired Achille in Sciro.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Ovid, Metamorphoses 4. 28
  2. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 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."
  3. ↑ Robinson, M. (1999). "Salmacis and Hermaphroditus: When Two Become One: (Ovid, Met. 4.285-388)". The Classical Quarterly. 49 (1): 212–223. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Antonio Beccadelli (Eugene Michael O'Connor, tr., ed.) Hermaphroditus: Introduction.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Encyclopaedia of the Hellenistic World, Asia Minor: Hermaphroditus – Cult
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Signe Isager (1998). "The Pride of Halikarnassos" (PDF). The Danish Institute at Athens.
  7. ↑ Smith, William, ed. (1890). "Hermaphroditus" . Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (3rd ed.). London: John Murray.
  8. ↑ C. Scott Littleton (2005). Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology, Volume 1. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. ISBN 0-7614-7559-1. pp. 666–669, 674
  9. ↑ Romano, Allen J. "The Invention of Marriage: Hermaphroditus and Salmacis at Halicarnassus and in Ovid." The Classical Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 2, [The Classical Association, Cambridge University Press], 2009, pp. 543–61.
  10. ↑ Ovid Alcithoë tells the story of Salmacis in Metamorphoses Book IV, lines 274–316
  11. ↑ Ovid Salmacis and Hermaphroditus merge in Metamorphoses Book IV, lines 346–388
  12. ↑ Kerenyi, p. 172-3.
  13. ↑ Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods Apollo and Dionysus
  14. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 6. 5
  15. ↑ "Cameo 1873,0208.5". The British Museum. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hermaphroditus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 367.
  17. ↑ Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1993). Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 495. ISBN 978-0-87542-832-1.
  18. ↑ Ustinova, Yulia (1999). The Supreme Gods of the Bosporan Kingdom: Celestial Aphrodite and the Most High God. BRILL. p. 106. ISBN 90-04-11231-6.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Encyclopaedia of the Hellenistic World, Asia Minor: Hermaphroditus – Literary sources
  20. ↑ Alciphron (1896). Alciphron : literally and completely translated from the Greek, with introduction and notes. Athens : Privately printed for the Athenian Society. p. 142.
  21. ↑ Greek Anthology, 2.1
  22. ↑ an eudæmonist: The Characters of Theophrastus
  23. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Library of History Book IV 4.6.5 (translated by Charles Henry Oldfather) at Theoi.com
  24. ↑ Garth, Sir Samuel Translation of Metamorphoses IV at Wikisource
  25. ↑ Salmacis and Hermaphroditus 1602 text, accessed in Renascence Editions at University of Oregon
  26. ↑ Ausonius, Epigrams on Various Matters, CII—CIII
  27. ↑ The Greek Anthology IX.783
  28. ↑ The Greek Anthology IX.317
  29. ↑ Swinburne A C Hermaphroditus Library Electronic Text Resource Service (LETRS) / Digital Library Program, Indiana University
  30. ↑ Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3. 21–23 (trans. Rackham): "Engendered from the sea-foam, we are told she [Aphrodite] became the mother by Mercurius [Hermes] of the second Cupidus [literally Eros, but Cicero is probably referring to Hermaphroditos]"
  31. ↑ Greek and Hellenistic Lovemaking, Embodying Male and Female Sexuality: Hermaphroditus p. 54
  32. ↑ McDermon, Daniel (2016-06-24). "What the Sleeping Hermaphrodite Tells Us About Art, Sex and Good Taste". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  33. ↑ Pasinli, Alpay (1989). Istanbul Archaeological Museums. A Turizm Yayinlari. p. 66. ISBN 9789757528142 – via Google Books.
  34. ↑ At Waymark UK Image Gallery An explanatory plaque is also accessible here.
  35. ↑ DeMone, Brittany; Hughes, Lisa A. (Summer 2021). "Sensing Hermaphroditus in the Dionysian Theatre Garden" (PDF). Open Arts Journal (10): 71. doi:10.5456/issn.2050-3679/2021s04. ISSN 2050-3679 – via Google Scholar.
  36. ↑ "La Delia". Libretti d'opera italiani (in Italian). Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  37. ↑ Heslin, P. J. (2005). The Transvestite Achilles. Cambridge University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-521-11775-3.

Works cited

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Attribution

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Further reading

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