Aphroditus
Encyclopedia
Aphroditus or Aphroditos was a male Aphrodite
originating from Amathus
on the island of Cyprus
and celebrated in Athens
in a transvestite rite.
Aphroditus was portrayed as having a female shape and clothing like Aphrodite's but also a beard and phallus
, and hence, a male name. This deity would have arrived in Athens from Cyprus in the 4th century BC. In the 5th century BC, however, there existed hermae of Aphroditus, or phallic statues with a female head.
According to Macrobius who mentions the goddess in his Saturnalia, Philochorus
in his Atthis (referred to by Macrobius) identifies this male-female god with the Moon
, and says that at its sacrifices men and women exchanged clothing.
Philostratus
, in describing the rituals involved in the festivals
, said that the image or the impersonator of the god was accompanied by a large train of followers in which girls mingled with men because the festivals allowed "women to act the part of men, and men put on woman's clothing and play the woman."
Aphroditus is the same as the later god Hermaphroditus
, whose name means "Aphroditus in the form of a herm
" - a statue shaped as a quadrangular pillar surmounted by a head or bust, and first occurs in the Characters of Theophrastus
. Photius also explained that Aphroditus was Hermaphroditus, and cited fragments from Attic
comedies mentioning the divinity. In later mythology Hermaphroditus came to be regarded as the son of Hermes
and Aphrodite
.
One of the earliest surviving images from Athens is a fragment (late 4th century BC), found in the Athenian agora, of a clay mould for a terracotta figurine
. The figurine would have stood about 30cm high, represented in a style known as άνασυρόμενος (anasyromenos) a female lifting her dress to reveal male genitals.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.19.2
Theophrastus
, Characters 16.10
Alciphron
, Epistles 3.37
Philostratus
, Imagines
1.2
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
originating from Amathus
Amathus
Amathus was one of the most ancient royal cities of Cyprus, on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles west of Larnaca and 6 miles east of Limassol...
on the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and celebrated in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in a transvestite rite.
Aphroditus was portrayed as having a female shape and clothing like Aphrodite's but also a beard and phallus
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
, and hence, a male name. This deity would have arrived in Athens from Cyprus in the 4th century BC. In the 5th century BC, however, there existed hermae of Aphroditus, or phallic statues with a female head.
According to Macrobius who mentions the goddess in his Saturnalia, Philochorus
Philochorus
Philochorus, of Athens, Greek historian during the 3rd century BC, , was a member of a priestly family. He was a seer and interpreter of signs, and a man of considerable influence....
in his Atthis (referred to by Macrobius) identifies this male-female god with the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, and says that at its sacrifices men and women exchanged clothing.
Philostratus
Philostratus of Lemnos
Philostratus of Lemnos , also known as Philostratus the Elder to distinguish him from Philostratus the Younger who was also from Lemnos, was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period...
, in describing the rituals involved in the festivals
Religious festival
A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar...
, said that the image or the impersonator of the god was accompanied by a large train of followers in which girls mingled with men because the festivals allowed "women to act the part of men, and men put on woman's clothing and play the woman."
Aphroditus is the same as the later god Hermaphroditus
Hermaphroditus
In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. He was a minor deity of bisexuality and effeminacy. According to Ovid, born a remarkably handsome boy, he was transformed into an androgynous being by union with the water nymph Salmacis...
, whose name means "Aphroditus in the form of a herm
Herma
A Herma, commonly in English herm is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height...
" - a statue shaped as a quadrangular pillar surmounted by a head or bust, and first occurs in the Characters of Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
. Photius also explained that Aphroditus was Hermaphroditus, and cited fragments from Attic
Attic Greek
Attic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek". It is sometimes included in Ionic.- Origin and range...
comedies mentioning the divinity. In later mythology Hermaphroditus came to be regarded as the son of Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
and Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
.
One of the earliest surviving images from Athens is a fragment (late 4th century BC), found in the Athenian agora, of a clay mould for a terracotta figurine
Greek Terracotta Figurines
Terracotta figurines are a mode of artistic and religious expression frequently found in Ancient Greece. Cheap and easily produced, these figurines abound and provide an invaluable testimony to the everyday life and religion of the Ancient Greeks.-Modelling:...
. The figurine would have stood about 30cm high, represented in a style known as άνασυρόμενος (anasyromenos) a female lifting her dress to reveal male genitals.
Literature
Macrobius, Saturnalia 3.8.2"There's also a statue of VenusVenus (mythology)Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
on Cyprus, that's bearded, shaped and dressed like a woman, with scepter and male genitals, and they conceive her as both male and female. AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
calls her Aphroditus, and LaeviusLaeviusLaevius was a Latin poet, of whom practically nothing is known.The earliest reference to him is perhaps in Suetonius , though it is not certain that the "Laevius Milissus" there referred to is the same person. Definite references do not occur before the 2nd century Laevius (? c. 80 BC) was a Latin...
says: Worshiping, then, the nurturing god Venus, whether she is male or female, just as the Moon is a nurturing goddess. In his Atthis PhilochorusPhilochorusPhilochorus, of Athens, Greek historian during the 3rd century BC, , was a member of a priestly family. He was a seer and interpreter of signs, and a man of considerable influence....
, too, states that she is the Moon and that men sacrificeSacrificeSacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
to her in women's dress, women in men's, because she is held to be both male and female."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.19.2
"Concerning the district called The Gardens, and the temple of Aphrodite, there is no story that is told by them, nor yet about the Aphrodite which stands near the temple. Now the shape of it is square, like that of the Hermae, and the inscription declares that the Heavenly Aphrodite is the oldest of those called Fates. But the statue of Aphrodite in the Gardens is the work of AlcamenesAlcamenesAlcamenes was an ancient Greek sculptor of Lemnos and Athens. He was a younger contemporary of Phidias and noted for the delicacy and finish of his works, among which a Hephaestus and an Aphrodite "of the Gardens" were conspicuous.Pausanias says Alcamenes was an ancient Greek sculptor of Lemnos and...
, and one of the most note worthy things in Athens."
Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
, Characters 16.10
"On the fourth and seventh days of each month, he directs mulled wineMulled wineMulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...
to be prepared, and going himself to purchase myrtle-wreaths, frankincenseFrankincenseFrankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
and convolvuluses; he returns to spend the day worshiping the statue of Hermaphroditus."
Alciphron
Alciphron
Alciphron was an ancient Greek sophist, and the most eminent among the Greek epistolographers. Regarding his life or the age in which he lived we possess no direct information whatsoever.-Works:...
, Epistles 3.37
"Having woven a garland of flowers, I repaired to the temple of Hermaphroditus, to fix it there, in honour of my deceased husband Phaedria: but I was seized there by Moschion and his companions. He had been teasing me to marry him; but I refused, partly through compassion for my young children; and also because my dear Phaedria is ever in my thoughts."
Philostratus
Philostratus of Lemnos
Philostratus of Lemnos , also known as Philostratus the Elder to distinguish him from Philostratus the Younger who was also from Lemnos, was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period...
, Imagines
Imagines (work by Philostratus)
Imagines is a work in Ancient Greek in two volumes describing and explaining various artworks. The first volume is generally attributed to Philostratus of Lemnos, or possibly to his more famous father-in-law Philostratus of Athens. The second volume is by the grandson of Philostratus of Lemnos,...
1.2
"The torches give a faint light, enough for the revellers to see what is close in front of them, but not enough for us to see them. Peals of laughter rise, and women rush along with men, wearing men's sandals and garments girt in strange fashion; for the revel permits women to masquerade as men, and men to "put on women's garb" and to ape the walk of women."
External links
- Barbata, Roman Mythology Index at mythindex.com
- Hermaphrodite Goddesses and Queer Priests - Academic Paper by Jeramy Townsley