From Bride to Groom: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights, IX.4.7

TRIGGER WARNING: child exposure

Ex feminis,' inquit, 'mutari in mares non est fabulosum. Invenimus in annalibus Q. Licinio Crasso, C. Cassio Longino Consulibus, Casini puerum factum ex virgine sub parentibus; iussuque haruspicum deportatum in insulam desertam. Licinius Mucianus prodidit visum esse a se Argis Arescontem, cui nomen Arescusae fuisset; nupsisse etiam; mox barbam et virilitatem provenisse uxoremque duxisse: eiusdem sortis et Smyrnae puerum a se visum. Ipse in Africa vidi mutatum in marem die nuptiarum L. Cossicium civem Thysdritanum: vivebatque cum proderem haec."

--Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae  IX.iv.7, quoting Pliny the Elder

[Pliny the Elder] wrote, “Women transforming into men isn’t fiction. We see in the Annals that in the year when Q. Licinius Crassus and C. Cassius Longinus were consuls, a woman at Casinus transformed into a boy under the eyes of his parents, but he was exposed on a deserted island by order of the religious leaders [haruspex]. Licinius Mucianus revealed that he saw with his own eyes at Argos a man by the name of Arescontes, who used to be Arescusa; she had even been married to a man, but once they grew a beard and became a man, he married a woman. He saw the same thing happen (again, with his own eyes) to a boy at Smyrna. When I was in Africa, I myself saw L. Cossicius, a citizen of Thysdrus, transform into a man on his wedding day: and as of the time I am writing this, he’s still alive.

PLINY THE ELDER	MAP:
Name:  Gaius Plinius Secundus Date:  23 – 79 CE Works:  Naturalis Historia*	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Pliny was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.	GOLDEN AGE ROME

 

AULUS GELLIUS	MAP:
Name:  Aulus Gellius Date:  2nd. c. CE Works:  Attic Nights	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Aulus Gellius lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.	SILVER AGE LATIN