The Death of Hippolytus and the Rebirth of Virbius, [Lactantius, Div. Inst.1.17]

 

Name:  Lactantius Date:  3rd century CE Region:  Numidia [modern Tunisia] Citation:    Div. Inst. 1.17

[Condemning the love affairs of the gods, Lactantius criticizes the relationship between Artemis and Hippolytus, insinuating that it was impure. He follows this passage with wild accusations that will not be published here.] When another goddess [Diana] nearly lost her lover [Hippoluytus / Virbius] who was “torn apart by spooked horses,” she begged the most famous healer Asclepius to heal him. And, once he was healed, she “took him away safely to a remote location, Entrusted him to the nymph Egeria, And abandoned him to the grove, Where he, alone and forgotten in the woods of Italy Would spend the rest of his life Under the changed name Virbius.”

Altera cum pene amatorem suum perdidisset,qui erat "turbatis distractus equis," praestantissimum medicum Asclepium curando iuveni advocavit, eumque sanatum: "Secretis alma recondit / sedibus, et nymphaea Egeriae, nemorique relegate: / solus ubi in silvis Italis ignobilis aevum / exigeret, versoque ubi nomine Virbius esset."

 

The Gender-Bending Vision of St. Perpetua

The Gender Bending Vision of St. Perpetua

Name:  St. Perpetua Date:  203 CE Region:  Madaura [modern Algeria] Citation:  The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas 10

Before she was killed, St. Perpetua had a vision in which she became a man and fought a gladiator. Many people interpret this transformation as her gaining skills and abilities that she was denied access to because of her gender.

The day before our execution, I saw this in a vision. The deacon Pomponius came to the door of the prison and started knocking on it violently. I went to the door and opened it. He was clothed in loose, bright clothing, and had special shoes on. He told me, “Perpetua, we are waiting for you, come on!,” and he held out his hand for me, and we began to walk through rough and uneven places. We nearly didn’t make it, but we finally arrived at the amphitheater and he brought me into the middle of the arena and told me, “Don’t panic. I am here with you, and I’ve got your back.” And he disappeared.

Then I saw a huge crowd of people, thunderstruck. Since I knew that I was condemned to die by beasts, I was wondering why there weren’t any animals around me. Instead, a certain Egyptian fighter—an absolutely huge warrior—came to fight me along with other gladiators. But young, honorable youths rose up alongside of me to cheer me on and help me fight. I took off my robe, and became a man. And my helpers began to anoint me with oil (something that happens in the arena). And I saw the Egyptian gladiator rolling in the dust. And there was a certain man who was huge (even taller than the tower of the amphitheater), who wore a loose purple robe with two stripes across the middle of his chest, wearing special shoes made of gold and silver. He carried a staff like a referee would, but it was a leafy branch that had golden apples. He shushed the crowd and said, “If this Egyptian fighter gladiator wins, he will kill her with a sword, but if this woman wins, she will get this staff as a trophy.” And he left.

And we approached each other and began to fight. He tried to grab my feet, but I started kicking him.  He tossed me into the air and I kept kicking him with my legs. But when I saw I had a chance, I wove my fingers together and I grabbed him by the head, and I struck him in the face and I kicked him in the head. And the crowd began to shout and my fans began to cheer. And I went up to the referee and I got the staff as a trophy of my victory. And he kissed me and told me, “Daughter, Peace be with you.” And I began to do my victory dance towards the Winner’s Gate. And then I woke up. And I understood that I wasn’t going to fight beasts, but I was going to fight the devil, but that I would be victorious. I had this vision the day before the Games; if someone wishes to write down what actually happens at the Games, let them do so.

 

The Gender Bending Vision of St. Perpetua

Pridie quam pugnaremus, video in horomate hoc: venisse Pomponium diaconum ad ostium carceris et pulsare vehementer.Et exivi ad eum et aperui ei; qui erat vestitus discincta candida, habens multiplices galliculas. Et dixit mihi: “Perpetua, te expectamus; veni.” Et tenuit mihi manum et coepimus ire per aspera loca et flexuosa.Vix tandem pervenimus anhelantes ad amphitheatrum et induxit me in media arena et dixit mihi: “Noli pavere. Hic sum tecum et conlaboro tecum.” Et abiit.

Et aspicio populum ingentem adtonitum; et quia sciebam me ad bestias damnatam esse, mirabar quod non mitterentur mihi bestiae. Et exivit quidam contra me Aegyptius foedus specie cum adiutoribus suis pugnaturus mecum. Veniunt et ad me adolescentes decori, adiutores et fautores mei. Et expoliata sum et facta sum masculus; et coeperunt me favisores mei oleo defricare, quomodo solent in agone. Et illum contra Aegyptium video in afa volutantem. Et exivit vir quidam mirae magnitudinis ut etiam excederet fastigium amphitheatri, discinctatus, purpuram inter duos clavos per medium pectus habens, et galliculas multiformes ex auro et argento factas, et ferens virgam quasi lanista, et ramum viridem in quo erant mala aurea. Et petiit silentium et dixit: “Hic Aegyptius, si hanc vicerit, occidet illam gladio; haec, si hunc vicerit, accipiet ramum istum.” Et recessit.

 Et accessimus ad invicem et coepimus mittere pugnos. Ille mihi pedes adprehendere volebat; ego autem illi calcibus faciem caedebam. Et sublata sum in aere et coepi eum sic caedere quasi terram non calcans. At ubi vidi moram fieri, iunxi manus ut digitos in digitos mitterem et apprehendi illi caput; et cecidit in faciem et calcavi illi caput. Et coepit populus clamare et fautores mei psallere. Et accessi ad lanistam et accepi ramum.Et osculatus est me et dixit mihi: “Filia, pax tecum.” Et coepi ire cum gloria ad portam Sanavivariam [1]. Et experrecta sum. Et intellexi me non ad bestias, sed contra diabolum esse pugnaturam; sed sciebam mihi esse victoriam. Hoc usque in pridie muneris egi; ipsius autem muneris actum, si quis voluerit, scribat.

---

[1] Sani et vivi, literally, “the healthy and living” gate.

Saint Perpetua [Vibia Perpetua; 203 CE, modern Algeria] was a Christian woman who was imprisoned and executed for her faith in 203 CE. In the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, she tells of her arrest, imprisonment, and execution.

Faith Over Family: Perpetua 5

Faith Over Family

Name:  St. Perpetua Date:  203 CE Region:  Madaura [modern Algeria] Citation:  The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas 5

Perpetua was a Christian woman who was imprisoned and executed for her faith in 203 CE. Before her execution, her father tried to manipulate her into recanting her faith by mentioning her family ties. In this passage, Perpetua explains that her faith was more important than her earthly family.

After a few days, we heard a rumor that we would be heard [in trial]. My father came to visit me from the city, worn out with worry. He approached me, and said, “Daughter, pity my old age. Pity your father! If I am worthy to still be called your father, if I raised you to womanhood with my own hands, if I cherished you over all of your brothers, don’t let me get dragged down by other people’s trash talk. Think about your brothers! Think about your mother and your aunt! Think about your son, who will die without you! Stop being so brave, or you’ll ruin us all. If something happens to you, none of us will be able to speak freely about it...”

My dad said this out of concern for his family, kissing my hands and throwing himself at my feet. He wept, and called me “lady,” not “daughter.” And I was upset for my dad, for he was the only person who wasn’t happy for me out of my whole family. And I comforted him, saying, “What happens at the gallows is God’s will. Please know that I am not yours to control, but rather I’m in God’s hands.” And he left me, upset.

Faith Over Family

Post paucos dies rumor cucurrit ut audiremur. Supervenit autem et de civitate pater meus, consumptus taedio, et ascendit ad me, ut me deiceret, dicens: “Miserere, filia, canis meis; miserere patri, si dignus sum a te pater vocari; si his te manibus ad hunc florem aetatis provexi, si te praeposui omnibus fratribus tuis: ne me dederis in dedecus hominum. Aspice fratres tuos, aspice matrem tuam et materteram, aspice filium tuum qui post te vivere non poterit. Depone animos; ne universos nos extermines. Nemo enim nostrum libere loquetur, si tu aliquid fueris passa.”

Haec dicebat quasi pater pro sua pietate basians mihi manus et se ad pedes meos iactans et lacrimans me iam non “filiam” nominabat, sed “dominam.” Et ego dolebam casum patris mei quod solus de passione mea gavisurus non esset de toto genere meo. Et confortavi eum dicens: “Hoc fiet in illa catasta quod Deus voluerit. Scito enim nos non in nostra esse potestate futuros, sed in Dei.” Et recessit a me contristatus.

Saint Perpetua [Vibia Perpetua; 203 CE, modern Algeria] was a Christian woman who was imprisoned and executed for her faith in 203 CE. In the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, she tells of her arrest, imprisonment, and execution. 

I Cannot Be Anything Other Than Me, St. Perpetua 2-3.2

I Cannot Be Anything Other Than Me: Perpetua’s Simple But Profound Declaration

Name:  St. Perpetua Date:  203 CE Region:  Madaura [modern Algeria] Citation:  The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas 2.1 – 3.2

Perpetua was a Christian woman who was imprisoned and executed for her faith in 203 CE. In this passage, she uses an analogy about a water pitcher to explain to her father that her faith was an integral part of her being.

Some youths were arrested before they could get baptized. They were Revocatus and Felicitas (his co-worker), Saturninus and Little Secundus. Among them was also Vibia Perpetua, a well-born lady, well educated, married and a mother. She had a mother, a father, and two brothers (one of whom was also an unbaptized Christian), and an infant son who had not yet been weaned. She was about twenty-two years old. This is a story of her martyrdom, written by her own hand, that she has left to us based on her own experience: 

When we were still among our prosecutors, my father tried to talk me out of it, out of his love for me. I told him, “Dad, do you see that vase lying over there? Is that a water jug or something else?”

He said, “I see it.”

And I told him, “Can you call it something other than its name?”

And he said, “Nope.”

And I said, “And I, too, cannot be called anything except what I am; a Christian.”

Latin Text: 

Apprehensi sunt adolescentes catechumeni, Revocatus et Felicitas, conserva eius, Saturninus et Secundulus. Inter hos et Vibia Perpetua, honeste nata, liberaliter instituta, matronaliter nupta, habens patrem et matrem et fratres duos, alterum aeque catechumenum, et filium infantem ad ubera. Erat autem ipsa circiter annorum viginti duo. Haec ordinem totum martyrii sui iam hinc ipsa narravit sicut conscriptum manu sua et suo sensu reliquit:

“Cum adhuc, inquit, cum prosecutoribus essemus et me pater verbis evertere cupiret et deicere pro sua affectione perseveraret: “Pater,” inquam, “vides verbi gratia vas hoc iacens, urceolum sive aliud?”

Et dixit: “Video.” 

Et ego dixi ei: “Numquid alio nomine vocari potest quam quod est?”

Et ait: “Non.”

“Sic et ego aliud me dicere non possum nisi quod sum, Christiana.”

Saint Perpetua [Vibia Perpetua; 203 CE, modern Algeria] was a Christian woman who was imprisoned and executed for her faith in 203 CE. In the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, she tells of her arrest, imprisonment, and execution. 

Roman Masculinity and BABIES, squee! Fronto, Ad Amicos 1.12.1-2

Fronto Fawns Over His Grandbabies!

Name:  Fronto and Marcus Aurelius Date:  100 – 170 CE Region:  Cirta [modern Algeria], Rome [modern Italy] Citation: Fronto, Letters to Friends 1.12.1-2

From: Fronto

To: Aufidius Victorinus

Hello, Son-in-Law!

[First Part of Letter is Missing]...In due course the gods will honor my daughter / your wife and our entire family with more children and grandchildren, and, since you'll be their dad, they will grow up to be just like you. Not a day goes by that I don’t have little mini-baby-talk conversations or hear mini-tantrums with our either our Victorinus, Jr, or our Fronto, Jr.  Whereas you never seek a reward or bribes from your words or deeds, our little Fronto doesn’t babble any other word more frequently than “da.” [“Give!”]  And so I give the little guy whatever is at hand—either a little scrap of paper or a writing tablet, things I hope he’ll want one day. But there are some signs he’s just like me, his grandpa: he really, really, really likes grapes. It was his first solid food, and all day he would lick them, or savor them in his lips, or nom-nom on them with his little baby gums [1]. He also really, really likes little birds: he really delights watching baby birds, little baby chicks, baby doves, and baby sparrows. I heard from my nurses and teachers that I always did the same when I was a kid...

---

[1] Please do not give uncut grapes to small children. They are a choking hazard. Thank you.

 

Fronto Fawns Over His Grandbabies!

Fronto Aufidio Victorino genero salutem.

<...> meremur et mihi filiam et tibi uxorem, ut recte proveniat, favebunt et familiam nostram liberis ac nepotibus augebunt et eos, qui ex te geniti sunt eruntque, tui similes praestabunt.Cum isto quidem sive Victorino nostro sive Frontone cotidianae mihi lites et jurgia intercedunt. Cum tu nullam unquam mercedem ullius rei agendae dicendaeve a quoquam postularis, Fronto iste nullum verbum prius neque frequentius congarrit quam hoc ‘da’. Ego contra quod possum aut chartulas ei aut tabellas porrigo, quarum rerum petitorem eum esse cupio. Nonnulla tamen et aviti ingeni signa ostendit: Uvarum avidissimus est. Primum denique hunc cibum degluttivit nec cessavit per totos paene dies aut lingua lambere uvam, aut labris saviari ac gingivis lacessere ac ludificari. Avicularum etiam cupidissimus est: Pullis gallinarum, columbarum, passerum oblectatur, quo studio me a prima infantia devinctum fuisse saepe audivi ex his, qui mihi eductores aut magistri fuerunt...

Reminding Those You Care About to Care for Themselves: Four Letters Between Fronto and Marcus Aurelius

 

Name:  Fronto and Marcus Aurelius Date:  100 – 170 CE Region:  Cirta [modern Algeria], Rome [modern Italy] Citation: Fronto, Letters to Marcus Aurelius 5.1, 5.2, Index of Book 5, lines 7-8

Fronto to Marcus Aurelius:

To my lord:

If you love me at all, get some sleep the night before you come into the Senate, so you can give your speech with a healthy appearance and a strong voice.

Marcus Aurelius to Fronto:

To my teacher:

I will never love you enough! I’ll get some sleep.

 

Fronto to Marcus Aurelius:

To my lord: Get something to eat, lord...

 

Marcus Aurelius to Fronto:

To my teacher: I got something to eat...

Domino Meo.

Si quicquam nos amas, dormi per istas noctes, ut forti colore in senatum venias et vehementi latere legas.

Magistro meo:

Ego te numquam satis amabo: dormiam.

 

 

 [First lines of two lost letters]:

Domino meo: Sume cibum, Domine...

Magistro meo: Sumpsi cibum...

Fronto [Marcus Cornelius Fronto; 100 – 160 CE, modern Algeria and Italy] was a Roman statesman born in Cirta [modern Algeria] whose rhetorical and literary abilities earned him the nickname “the Second Cicero.” He was tutor and mentor to the future Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. His correspondence with them provides unique insight into the personal lives of much of the Antonine dynasty.

Ace Allies, Assemble--for Rome! Claudian, Stilich. 3.237-274

Diana Rallies Her Companions to Serve Rome

Name:  Claudian Date:   370 – 404 CE  Region:    Alexandria [modern Egypt] Citation: Stilicho 3.237 – 274

Diana, Daughter of Latona

Who lords over the forests and the stars with equal ease,

You care for Stilicho as well,

By ensuring our Roman games are filled with noble beasts.

On the top of Alpine cliffs with bow in hand,

You assemble and hold a chaste court

With your chaste companions.

All of them are armed with quivers

With bare arms and bare shoulders,

Armed with spears in hand and quivers on their backs

Beautiful yet unadorned.

Their dusty faces gleam with sweat,

Showing off neither their maidenhood nor their gender.

Their hair is loose, and two hempen cords belt their waists

And keep their legs free.

Blond Leontodame arrives first,

Nebrophone (raised on the Lycaean mountain) follows next.

And Thero, who keeps the Arcadian territories in check with her mighty weapons.

Passionate Britomartis hastens over from Cretan Ida

And Lycaste, who can outrun the wind.

Scythian-born twins Hecaerge (the one feared by all beasts)

And her sister Opis (the one to pray to when you’re hunting)

Arrive side-by-side, by making their home in Delos

Shunning the wild norths—made these twins powerful goddesses.

These seven leaders came, and following them was another army of nymphs, Diana’s beautiful Valkyries.

A hundred of them were from Taygetus,

A hundred of them were from the peak of Mt. Cynthus,

And a hundred nymphs born in the region of the chaste-flowing Ladon.

When they assembled together, Diana began her speech:

“O allies, you who follow me together

Who spurn the detested marriage bed,

Dwelling with me in the crisp mountain ranges,

Do you notice that the gods are all keeping an eye on Rome?

How many herds of horses that Neptune has bestowed upon the world?

That my brother Apollo’s lyre never stops singing of Rome’s praise?

I feel that we ought to be doing the same.

We do not need our spears for this task,

Our arrows can remain unbloodied,

Our bows can cease from their accustomed hunting.

Blood should be preserved for the Roman games only.

Beasts should be brought in alive with nets and cages

(Spare them from your fierce arrows!)

Save these creatures until their deaths can come

For an applauding audience.”

Diana Rallies Her Companions to Serve Rome

Tibi, quae pariter silvis dominaris et astris,

exiguam Stilicho movit, Latonia, curam :

tu quoque nobilibus spectacula nostra laboras

inlustrare feris summoque in vertice rupis

Alpinae socias arcu cessante pudicas

et pharetratarum comitum inviolabile cogis

concilium, veniunt umeros et brachia nudae

armataeque manus iaculis et terga sagittis,

incomptae pulchraeque tamen; sudoribus ora

pulverulenta rubent, sexum nec cruda fatetur

virginitas; sine lege comae; duo cingula vestem

crure tenus pendere vetant. Praecedit amicas

flava Leontodame, sequitur nutrita Lycaeo

Nebrophone telisque domat quae Maenala Thero.

Ignea Cretaea properat Britomartis ab Ida

et cursu Zephyris numquam cessura Lycaste.

Iungunt se geminae metuenda feris Hecaerge

et soror, optatum numen venantibus, Opis

progenitae Scythia : divas nemorumque potentes

fecit Hyperboreis Delos praelata pruinis.

Hae septem venere duces ; exercitus alter

Nympharum incedunt, acies formosa Dianae,

centum Taygeti, centum de vertice Cynthi

et totidem casto genuit quas flumine Ladon.

Has ubi collectas vidit, sic Delia coepit :

“O sociae, mecum thalami quae iura perosae

virgineo gelidos percurritis agmine montes,

cernitis ut Latio superi communibus ornent

hunc annum studiis? Quantos Neptunus equorum

donet ab orbe greges? Laudi quod nulla canendae

fratris plectra vacent? Nostram quoque sentiat idem

quam meritis debemus opem. Non spicula poscit

iste labor; maneant clausis nunc sicca pharetris,

omnis et a solitis noster venatibus arcus

temperet; in solam cruor hic servetur harenam.

Retibus et clatris dilata morte tenendae

ducendaeque ferae, cupidas arcete sagittas;

consulis in plausum casuris parcite monstris.”

 

 Claudian was born in Alexandria, Egypt during the 4^th century CE. He is one of the best poets of the time period, and he provides a unique perspective as a non-Christian writer in Christian Rome. Many of his works are still extant, including panegyric [official praise literature] for the Roman Emperor Honorius and his general Stilicho, a poem criticizing the eunuch consul Eutropius, and an epic retelling of the abduction of Persephone.

 

Born this Way: Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos / Almagest 3.14

NOTE: Although this passage uses binary thinking, conflates gender and sexuality, and often uses offensive stereotypes, it is nevertheless an important text in the study of gender and sexuality, as it shows that ancient scientists not only acknowledged that same-sex desire was a natural phenomenon, but also explored possible reasons behind it.  In this passage, the scientist Ptolemy sees a link between astrological horoscopes and sexual identity. 

 

Name: Ptolemy Date: 100 – 170 CE Region: Alexandria [modern Egypt] Citation:  Tetrabiblion [Almagest] 3.14

 

Regarding [gender inversions]: Just like stated in the previous chapter, the most extreme cases are particularly evident in sexual roles, both masculine and feminine, which are not heteronormative. This information can be broken down and analyzed just like we did in the previous chapter, but now we’re looking at the sun and the moon, not Mercury, and their course in relationship with Mars and Venus.

When you notice that all of the heavenly bodies are falling under masculine signs of the Zodiac, then men will be extra-manly, but women will be excessively manly and athletic in their souls. But if Mars and Venus are also present (or both) are in the masculine house, then men become excessively lustful, insatiable, adulterous, and do inappropriate activity, while women will seek romantic activity beyond what is healthy. They will have a roaming eye, and become lesbians, for they love women, just like men do.  If only Venus is in a masculine house, they act this way discreetly, but if Mars is also in the masculine house, they act flagrantly and openly have women they call their lawful wives.

On the other hand, when these heavenly bodies are in the feminine house, then women act extra-womanly, but men will be lusty beyond what is healthy, and their souls become soft and womanly. If Venus is also in the feminine house, then women become adulterous and lusty beyond what is healthy, and they may seek any type of relationship, date anyone whatsoever, never remaining single. Even if it is shameful or against the law, they will engage in that romantic activity. Men however, will be gay and unmanly, acting womanly, seeking relationships that are not heteronormative, seeking to be a man’s boyfriend, but secretly and discreetly. However, if Mars is also in the feminine house, they act flagrantly and openly have sexual activity with men in any manner. 

ἡ δὲ περὶ τὸ παθητικόν, κατ̓ αὐτὸ πάλιν τὸ ἐξαίρετον θεωρουμένη, καταφαίνεται μάλιστα περὶ τὰς κατ̓ αὐτὸ τὸ γένος τοῦ ἄρρενος καὶ θήλεως ὑπερβολὰς καὶ ἐλλείψεις τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν, διαλαμβάνεται δὲ ἐπισκεπτικῶς κατὰ τὸν ὅμοιον τῷ προκειμένῳ τρόπον, τοῦ ἡλίου μέντοι μετὰ τῆς σελήνης ἀντὶ τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ παραλαμβανομένου καὶ τῆς τοῦ Ἄρεως σὺν τῷ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης πρὸς αὐτοὺς συνοικειώσεως: τούτων γὰρ οὕτως ὑπ̓ ὄψιν πιπτόντων, ἐὰν μὲν μόνα τὰ φῶτα ἐν ἀρρενικοῖς ᾖ ζῳδίοις, οἱ μὲν ἄνδρες ὑπερβάλλουσι τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν, αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες τοῦ παρὰ φύσιν πρὸς τὸ ἔπανδρον ἁπλῶς τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ δραστικώτερον: ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ἄρεως ἢ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἤτοι ὁπότερος ἢ καὶ ἀμφότεροι ὦσιν ἠρρενωμένοι, οἱ μὲν ἄνδρες πρὸς τὰς κατὰ φύσιν συνουσίας γίνονται καταφερεῖς καὶ μοιχικοὶ καὶ ἀκόρεστοι καὶ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ πρόχειροι πρός τε τὰ αἰσχρὰ καὶ τὰ παράνομα τῶν ἀφροδισίων: αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες πρὸς τὰς παρὰ φύσιν ὁμιλίας λάγναι καὶ ῥιψόφθαλμοι καὶ αἱ καλούμεναι τριβάδες: διατιθέασι δὲ θηλείας, ἀνδρῶν

Plurime igitur species infirmitatum in agente parte animae contingentium sunt hae quas praediximus, quae secundum naturam suam generaliter per huiusmodi qualitates adveniant. Differentiae vero quae proprie in parte recipiente dispositionem accidunt, in augmento ac diminutione rerum naturalium masculinis & feminininis apparebunt, ad quarum prognosticationem illa via quae praedictae viae assimilantur, perveniemus. Post quam Luna Solem quemadmodum ibi cum Luna Mercurium posuerimus, et Veneris ac Martis ad ipsos similitudinem observaverimus. Post horum igitur explanationem ostendemus, quod si sola luminaria in signis masculinis fuerint, ea quae sibi naturalia sunt viri nimis exercebunt. Mulieres autem quae sibi contra naturam sunt nimium operabuntur, et quae sibi naturalia sunt in vires & masculinitatem animae convertenetur. Item si Mars & Venus vel eorum alter masculinus fuerit, in naturalibus rebus

ἔργα ἐπιτελοῦσαι. κἂν μὲν μόνος ὁ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἠρρενωμένος ᾖ, λάθρα καὶ οὐκ ἀναφανδόν: ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ἄρεως, ἄντικρυς ὥστε ἐνίοτε καὶ νομίμας ὥσπερ γυναῖκας τὰς διατιθεμένας ἀναδεικνύειν. Τὸ δ̓ ἐναντίον, τῶν φωτῶν κατὰ τὸν ἐκκείμενον σχηματισμὸν ἐν θηλυκοῖς ζῳδίοις ὑπαρχόντων μόνων, αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες ὑπερβάλλουσι τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν, οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες τοῦ παρὰ φύσιν, πρὸς τὸ εὔθρυπτον καὶ τεθηλυσμένον τῆς ψυχῆς: ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ᾖ τεθηλυσμένος, αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες καταφερεῖς τε καὶ μοιχάδες καὶ λάγναι γίνονται πρὸς τὸ διατίθεσθαι κατὰ φύσιν ἐν παντί τε καιρῷ καὶ ὐπὸ παντὸς οὑτινοσοῦν, ὡς μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς, ἐάν τε αἰσχρὸν ᾖ, ἐάν τε παράνομον, ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν ἀφροδισίων: οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες μαλακοί τε καὶ σαθροὶ πρὸς τὰς παρὰ φύσιν συνουσίας καὶ γυναικῶν ἔργα, διατιθέμενοι παθητικῶς, ἀποκρύφως μέντοι καὶ λεληθότως: ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ἄρεως ᾖ τεθηλυσμένος, ἄντικρυς καὶ μετὰ παρρησίας ἀναισχυντοῦσι, τὰ προκείμενα καθ̓ ἑκάτερον εἶδος ἀποτελοῦντες.

Veneris valde conversabuntur homines & nimis circa vitium illud solicitabuntur. Ex rebus etiam [amores] turpia quae contra legem fuerint, festinanter facere desiderabunt. Mulieres autem innaturales actus cupidinis plus aequo perpetrabunt, et erunt thahaherat, eo quod ad invicem in agendo commiscebuntur. Si Venus autem sola masculina fuerit id quod inde perpetrabunt erit occultum et ignorabitur. Sed si Mars masculinus extiterit, ita erit illud manifestum quod quandoque mulieres cum eis conversabuntur quasi sibi proprias uxores fore demonstrabunt. Quod si eundem stellae in praedicti contrarium fuerint, id est, ut sola luminaria cum praedictis qualitatibus in signis femininis extiterint, mulieres ea quae sibi naturalia sunt operabuntur. Viri autem ea quae sibi sunt contra naturam committent, et cum mollitie ac feminitate anima naturalia transgredientur. Item si sola Venus feminina fuerit, illegitimos actus Veneris mulieres nimis adimplebunt, frequentius tamen ad naturalia declinabunt et cum quolibet, adeo quod nulli [amorem] denegabunt seu de

formis seu contra legem fuerit, viri autem erunt effeminati, ac molles, et ad innaturales actus Veneris proclvio res, neminem etiam ab illicito [amore] prohiberebunt, praeter quod occulte illud perpetrabunt. Translated into Latin by George of Trebizond

 Ptolemy's Hypothesis in chart form: 

	MASCULINE HOUSE	FEMININE HOUSE
SUN & MOON	MEN: excessively manly WOMEN: excessively manly & athletic	MEN: excessively womanly & soft WOMEN: excessively womanly
+ MARS	MEN: uncontrollable and openly lusty WOMEN: open lesbian relationships / have wives	MEN: openly gay relationships WOMEN: uncontrollable and openly lusty
+ VENUS	MEN: lusty & adulterous but discreet WOMEN: lusty lesbians but discreet	MEN: lusty & gay but discreet WOMEN: lusty & adulterous but discreet
SUN, MOON, + MARS + VENUS	MEN: excessively lusty, adulterous WOMEN: lusty, roaming eye, lesbians [seek women lovers like men do]	MEN: excessively lusty, gay WOMEN: uncontrollable and openly lusty

Ptolemy [Claudius Ptolemy; 2^nd century CE, modern Egypt] was one of the most important scientific minds of the ancient world. He was a Greek scholar who lived in Alexandria, and his works provide us with crucial insight into Greco-Roman scientific thought of that time period. His work on astronomy, Tetrabiblios / Almagest, was one of the most important scientific works of the Middle Ages. For hundreds of years, the original Greek version was lost, and it was preserved only in Arabic translation.