1. Literary sources and myth

Hermaphroditus is depicted in Greek and Roman mythology and art as the creature which simultaneously bears the characteristics of both genders. The earliest reference to him is the one made by Theophrastus, in the 4^th century BC.¹ We also have knowledge of the writing of a homonymous tragedy by the Greek comedy writer Poseidippus, who lived in the first half of the 3^rd century BC, but the play has unfortunately not survived our days.² All the other literary sources which refer to him are later. Diodorus of Sicily, in the middle of the 1^st century BC, informs us on Hermaphroditus’ descent and the meaning of his name. More specifically, he states that he was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, and that his name is a combination of his parents’ names.³

More extensively, the myth of Hermaphroditus was perpetuated by Ovid, the Latin poet who lived in the 1^st century BC.⁴ Hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, whom the nymphs raised in the caves of mount Ide of Phrygia. His expression projected the grace and beauty of both his parents, from whom he took his name. When he turned fifteen, he abandoned the mountain where he grew up, in order to wander around Asia Minor and become acquainted with new places. He passed by the towns of Lycia, as well as Caria, where he stopped to rest at a fountain called Salmacis, whose water formed a lake.⁵ The homonymous nymph of the lake, the skittish Salmacis, was enraptured by the youth’s beauty and fell deeply in love with him. Yet, Hermaphroditus remained unmoved and indifferent to her passion. When she realized that all her efforts to seduce him were unavailing, she made a feint of being indifferent and moved away from the fountain. Hermaphroditus, thinking that he was left alone, jumped into the water. Salmacis, however, hidden behind a nearby bush and watching all of his moves – defenseless as he was in her kingdom’s territories – sprang out from behind the bush and jumped into the water. Hermaphroditus, despite all of his efforts, did not manage to escape the nymph’s embraces, as she was blinded with passion and implored the gods to never separate them. The gods made her wish come true and united the two bodies in one, by creating a new type of living being, which had a double nature, neither female nor male. Hermaphroditus, as he felt his body being united with the female one, cursed the fountain, and implored his parents to transform any man who would fall in the same pool into an effeminate creature. Hermes and Aphrodite heard their son’s request and granted the fountain this mysterious power.⁶

The myth that was delivered by Ovid is explanatory and probably of Greek origin. The poet begins his mythical narration by trying to justify the bad reputation that the fountain Salmacis had acquired, to which Strabo⁷ as well as Vitruvius⁸ make mention. At the same time, Ovid justifies the peculiar physiology and the unusual name of Hermaphroditus.⁹ His paradoxical double hypostasis provoked the interest of many writers of the later period, like that of Lucian,¹⁰ Martialis¹¹ and Ausonius.¹² A reference to Hermaphroditus is also made in the Palatine Anthology, and is associated with the tradition of possible sexual intercourse with Silenus, also encountered in art.¹³

2. Cult

The deification and the origins of the cult of hermaphrodite beings stem from Eastern religions, where the hermaphrodite nature expressed the idea of a primitive being that united both genders and possessed the power of self fertilization. In Greece and Asia Minor, hermaphrodite features appear in cases of well-known deities, such as Dionysus, Zeus Stratius, Eros, Cybele, Agdistis and Aphrodite, the latter being worshipped as ‘Aphroditos’ in Cyprus and depicted as a female figure with a beard and a phallus.¹⁴

In the Greek world, the cult of Hermaphroditus must have been introduced in the early 4^th century BC, yet our knowledge on it remains scant. No information exists on whether he was one of the most significant deities in the Greek pantheon, or on his particular properties. A view has been expressed that, as Hermaphroditus embodied the full unity and harmony of the two genders, he was probably a deity directly linked to fertility and reproduction, and was worshipped as a protector of marriage and sexual union.

At the same time, Hermaphroditus’ depictions in the Hellenistic and Roman periods in private houses, theatres, baths and gymnasia led to the conclusion that he was probably assigned an apotropaic character. Moreover, Hermaphroditus’ terracotta figures were found in Hellenistic graves in Greece and his depictions on Roman grave monuments perhaps revealed a chthonic substance. It is notable that Greek and Latin writers did not appear to associate him with people who possessed ambiguous sexual characteristics upon birth and were considered inauspicious and miasmatic creatures, thus were killed for this reason.¹⁵ From Theophrastus’ sayings it is evident that Hermaphroditus accepted ritual honours, while Alciphron¹⁶ makes mention of the presence of a sanctuary devoted to the deity, in the deme of Alopeke in Attica. Unfortunately, there is no evidence on sanctuaries devoted to Hermaphroditus in Asia Minor.

3. Art

Hermaphroditus is often portrayed in sculpture, wall-paintings and mosaics of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Literary and epigraphic evidence cites sculpture with his figure. Pliny’s mention to a bronze statue referred to as Hermaphroditus nobilis and created by the sculptor Polycles is notable.¹⁷

Hermaphroditus is depicted nude or half-nude in works of art, either having the body of a teenager with female breasts and male genitals, or with a flexible, well-shaped female body and male genitals. In the field of sculpture, a most popular type was the one of the ‘anasyromenos ('revealing type') Hermaphroditus’, who exhibits his genitals by raising his cloak. However, the figure of the so called ‘sleeping Hermaphroditus’ was also popular, which is a piece of art that belongs to the Hellenistic period and has survived in many Roman copies. Hermaphroditus is often encountered in statue groups, either together with Aphrodite or together with the Cupids or Pan, and even with figures from the dionysian thiasus. On the wall paintings of Pompey he is depicted with Silenus, a fact that most likely echoes the tradition that links these two mythical figures. We do not know of any works of art in Antiquity that portray the myth of Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis, as cited by Ovid. On the contrary, in the Renaissance and during the later periods this myth became a source of inspiration for many artists.¹⁸