Masculine, Feminine, Neuter: Greco-Roman Portrayals of the Myth of Hermaphroditus

Although intersex people were not treated well throughout Roman history [cf. Pliny NH vii.iii.34], Greco-Roman authors were fascinated by the concept of a person who could transcend the rigid gender roles imposed by society. The following examples show several authors' attempts to play with grammatical gender in their poems about intersex individuals /myths.

1) Grammatici filia genuit amore mixta

sobole masculam, feminam, neutram.

γραμματικοῦ θυγάτηρ ἔτεκεν φιλότητι μιγεῖσα

παιδίον ἀρσενικόν, θηλυκόν, οὐδέτερον.

A grammar teacher’s daughter got pregnant

And had a kid that was masculine, feminine, and neuter.

 --Palladas, Greek Anthology IX.489; Translated into Latin by Friedrich Duebner

2) 

prodita prole parens partus enixa biformes;

facta paterna luit prodita prole parens

When a child is born: if a mother gives birth to an intersex child,

it reveals an adulterous deed: when a child is born.

--Codex Salmasianus 257

3) 

In Hermaphroditum in balneis stantem

Maribus Mercurius sum, feminis vero Cypris cernor:

utriusque autem fero in me signa parentis.

Ideo haud immerito me Hermaphroditum posuerunt in

communis-viris-et-feminis lavacro puerum ambiguum.

εἰς Ἑρμαφρόδιτον ἐν λουτρῷ ἱστάμενον

ἀνδράσιν Ἑρμῆς εἰμι, γυναιξὶ δὲ Κύπρις ὁρῶμαι

ἀμφοτέρων δὲ φέρω σύμβολά μοι τοκέων.

τοὔνεκεν οὐκ ἀλόγως με τὸν Ἑρμαφρόδιτον ἔθεντο

ἀνδρογύνοις λουτροῖς παῖδα τὸν ἀμφίβολον.

I am Hermes to men, and Aphrodite to women;

I wear the shape of both of my parents.

So it’s no wonder why they put me, the intersex Hermaphroditus,

In a bathhouse meant for all.

--Greek Anthology IX.783; Translated into Latin by Friedrich Duebner

4) 

Cum mea me mater gravida gestaret in alvo,

quid pareret, fertur consuluisse deos.

Phoebus ait, "puer est," Mars "femina," Iuno "neutrum,":

Iam, quom sum natus, Hermaphroditus eram.

Quaerenti letum dea sic ait "occidet armis."

Mars "cruce" Phoebus "aquis;" sors rata quaeque fuit.

Arbor obumbrat aquas: ascendo; labitur ensis,

quem tuleram, casu: labor et ipse super;

pes haesit ramis, caput incidit amne, tulique

vir mulier neutram flumina tela crucem.

Nescio quem sexum mihi sors extrema reliquit,

felix, si sciero cur utriusque fui.

It is said that when my mother bore me in her womb,

the gods debated what she would give birth to.

Phoebus said, “It’s a boy!”

Mars said, “It’s a girl!”

Juno said, “It’s neither!”

And now that I’m born, I’m Hermaphroditus.

When she asked how I would die,

The goddess said, “Death by the sword!”

Mars said, “Death by the cross!”

Phoebus said, “Death by water!”

And fate figured out the rest.

There was a tree that gave shade to the water;

I climbed it;

My sword fell;

And I fell on top of it;

My foot got caught on a branch;

My head fell into the water;

And so there I was

A man

A woman

Neither

Dying by water

Weapon

And cross.

I don’t know what the final outcome of my gender will be,

But I’ll be happy

If I understand that I was both.

--Codex Salmasianus 127

 

PALLADAS	MAP:
Name:  Palladas Date:  4th c. CE Works:  poems	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Palladas was a 4th c. poet and scholar who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Little is known about his life, but several of his poems were preserved in the Greek Anthology.	POST CONSTANTINOPLE GREEK LITERATURE

 

CODEX SALMASIANUS	MAP:
Name:  Codex Salmasianus Date:  6th Century CE Works:  ---	REGION  3
BIO:	Timeline:
The Codex Salmasianus is a manuscript of Latin poetry that preserves poetry from 6th century CE and earlier. It was named after Claude de Saumaise, a 17th century scholar who owned the manuscript.	BYZANTINE / LATE LATIN

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ???? Date:  Works:  Greek Anthology; Anthologia Graeca; Florilegii Graecii	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
The Greek Anthology is a modern collection of Greek lyric poetry compiled from various sources over the course of Greco-Roman literature. The current collection was created from two major sources, one from the 10th century CE and one from the 14th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets.	Byzantine Greek