Hermaphroditus
godSon of Hermes and Aphrodite who was fused with the nymph Salmacis into a single being of both sexes.
The Myth
A nymph loved him so much she prayed to be merged with him forever — the gods granted it, and he became both male and female. Hermaphroditus, beautiful son of Hermes and Aphrodite, bathed in the spring of Salmacis in Caria. The nymph Salmacis, desperate with desire, seized him and prayed that they would never be separated. The gods merged their bodies into one being of both sexes. Horrified, Hermaphroditus cursed the spring so that any man who bathed in it would become effeminate. Ovid tells this in the Metamorphoses as both love story and horror story — the boundary between devotion and violation collapses. The myth gave us the word hermaphrodite.
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Hermes
godThe swift messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld. Hermes was the cleverest of...
Hermes (Messenger)
godHermes was the messenger god, guide of souls, patron of travellers and thieves — the most versatile...
Salmacis
nymphWater nymph of Caria whose desperate embrace of Hermaphroditus caused the gods to fuse them into a...
Aphrodite
godGoddess of love and beauty, born from the sea foam. Aphrodite's power to inspire desire was so...
Hermes Kriophoros
godAn epithet of Hermes meaning "ram-bearer," depicting the god carrying a ram on his shoulders, an...
Hermes Psychopompos
godIn his role as Psychopompos, Hermes escorted the souls of the dead to the underworld — the only...
Hermes Trismegistus
conceptA syncretic figure combining the Greek Hermes with the Egyptian Thoth, representing ultimate...
Achelous
godAchelous was the god of the mightiest river in Greece and father of the Sirens — he wrestled...
Aeolus
godAeolus kept winds in a leather bag on his floating island.
Aeolus (Wind King)
godKeeper of the winds, appointed by Zeus to control the Anemoi from his floating island of Aeolia.
Amphitrite (Goddess)
godAmphitrite co-ruled the oceans with Poseidon.
Apollo
godGod of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine...