Siproites Explained

In Greek mythology, Siproites (; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σιπροίτης|Siproítēs), also romanized as Siproetes or Siproeta, is the name of a minor Cretan hero, a hunter who saw the goddess Artemis naked while she was bathing and was then transformed into a woman as punishment, paralleling the story of the hunter Actaeon.[1]

Mythology

Siproites, while hunting, saw Artemis bathing naked; in response to the offence, the virgin goddess turned him into a woman.[2] The myth is only narrated in a single line of a total of twelve words in the original Greek:

The full story of Siproites has been lost to time; the above passage is all that remains, as Antoninus Liberalis alone preserves the tale in a brief and obscure reference, and that within the context of an altogether different myth in which a Cretan woman named Galatea lists various occasions of gods changing the sex of mortals while begging the goddess Leto to change her daughter Leucippus into a boy, fearing her husband Lamprus's (who had been told that their child was a son) reaction should he find out the truth.[3]

Symbolism

This sex-change tale shares some similarities with the myth of the goddess Athena blinding a man named Tiresias for seeing her naked, as well as the story of Actaeon, who saw Artemis naked and was transformed into a stag that was hunted down and devoured by his own hunting dogs; it has been noted that in comparison to Actaeon, Artemis was rather lenient toward Siproites for what was the same offence. The sex-reversal story brings its hero Siproites into line with several other male hunters and soldiers who were emasculated by a goddess, both literally and metaphorically, such as Attis and Orion.

In Greek mythology female-to-male transformation is treated as a positive outcome and a solution to a problem, whereas the opposite situation where a man is transformed into a woman (which is the case for Siproites and Tiresias) is presented as a negative experience, synonymous with punishment.[4]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rosemary M. . Wright . A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations . mythandreligion.upatras.gr . January 3, 2023 . University of Patras.
  2. Web site: Ludwig Preller: Griechische Mythologie I - Theogonie, Götter . www.projekt-gutenberg.org . 2021-11-12 . German.
  3. Krappe . Alexander Haggerty . Teiresias and the Snakes . . 49 . 3 . 1928 . 269–70 . 10.2307/290092. 290092 . October 9, 2023.
  4. The Invention of Transformation . fr . Françoise . Frontisi-Ducroux . L'invention de la métamorphose . Rue Descartes . 64 . 2 . October 1, 2009 . 8–22 . 1144-0821 . 10.3917/rdes.064.0008 . August 15, 2023.