The Androgynous and Bisexuality in Ancient Legal Codes

Abstract

The name derives from his parentage: ‘Hermaphroditus’, son of Hermes and Aphrodite. His place of birth remains unknown, but we know where he spent his first years of life: the woods surrounding Mount Ida in Phrygia where he was brought up by the Nymphs. A normal life, like any other boy, until the age of fifteen when he decides to explore the world. He travels through Asia Minor until he reaches Caria, and the banks of a beautiful lake. A bold Nymph lives in the vicinity of the lake: Salmacis. As soon as she sees Hermaphroditus, now a handsome young man, she falls in love with him and tries various ways of seducing him - all in vain, as Hermaphroditus resists her advances. Salmacis is not discouraged. More and more determined to conquer the youth, she pretends to have given up all hope and waits for the right moment. The occasion presents itself when, naked, Hermaphroditus dives into the waters of the lake. Salmacis, who has been eagerly awaiting that moment, dives in after him and clasps him in an embrace from which he cannot free himself. An embrace of only a few seconds does not satisfy the desires of the lovestruck Nymph: she wants her body and her beloved's to become fused for the rest of eternity. She prays to the gods and the gods grant her request. Hermaphroditus and Salmacis are transformed forever into a new single being that is both male and female (the story can be found in Ovid, Metamorphosis, IV, 285).