Aphroditos (or Aphroditus) is a masculine version of Aphrodite originating in Cyprus and celebrated in Athens. He was usually portrayed as having a more female shape and clothing, while also having a phallus, hence having a male name. (You know ancient Greeks and their lack of understanding of trans people, but I digress.) Later on, it seems that Aphroditos may have become Hermaphroditos, the deity who was the son of Aphrodite and Hermes.
There's also a statue of Venus 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. Aristophanes calls her Aphroditus, and Laevius says: Worshiping, then, the nurturing god Venus, whether she is male or female, just as the Moon is a nurturing goddess. In his Atthis Philochorus, too, states that she is the Moon and that men sacrifice to her in women's dress, women in men's, because she is held to be both male and female.
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I had the honor of crafting my own idol for Aphrodite this month 🐚💕 the photos are a timeline of Her creation, about 2 1/2 weeks worth of effort.
She was fired in American "raku" style (not true raku) and She is very iridescent in person !! I can't put into words how amazing it felt to form the statue from mud, gently glaze it, carry it to the sacred flames, and then slowly lower it into cool waters. I feel so much pride and love when I hold it. the glaze was meant to resemble the dark oceans, but glaze does what it desires <3
Khaire Aphrodite and Her numerous blessings!! it's fitting my first ever statue from my new favorite medium is of the Goddess that blesses us endlessly with love. thank you for giving me the opportunity to create with clay and the opportunity to create your sacred form 💘💕💓
We do not have much information on Hermaphroditos, but the most popular myth about him is the one written by Ovid. This is not the only myth on Hermaphroditos, and it actually, in my opinion, is untrue and kind of sucks.
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If you have not heard it, it recounts the story of the nymph Salmacis raping a young Hermaphroditos. During this assault, Salmacis wishes for their forms to be merged together, resulting in the mixed-sex characteristics that we know Hermaphroditos for today. However, I have good reason to believe that this story is untrue.
There exists an inscription from the Anatolian city of Halicarnassus that tells a different account of the story of Hermaphroditos. It wasn't translated until 1998, but predates the writing of Ovid’s Metamorphoses by around 200 years. It states:
“And Halicarnassus settled the delightful hill beside the stream of Salmakis, sung of as dear to the immortals, and her domain includes the desirable home of the nymph, she who once received our child in her kindly arms and reared Hermaphroditos the all-excellent, he who invented marriage and was first to bind together wedded couples by his law, and she herself beneath the holy waters in the cave that she pours forth makes gentle the savage minds of men.”
In this account, Salmacis is named as the nymph that cared for Hermaphroditos as a child. An assault is never mentioned, and she is clearly of far different character, who is described as kind and admired by mortals and immortals alike. From this account, we can also infer that Hermaphroditos was born intersex, as no such transformation later in life is given a mention. Furthermore, in Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods, while satire, it is given a passing mention in Dialogue 22 that Hermaphroditos was born with both male and female traits.
All of this this is without even mentioning Ovid’s odd fascination with rape. According to Leo C. Curran’s article Rape and Rape Victims in the Metamorphoses, there are “fifty or so occurrences of forcible rape, attempted rape, or sexual distortion hardly distinguishable from rape” in The Metamorphoses. If I’m honest, I think Ovid just liked to cram in stories of sexual assault whenever he could, and did so when writing his own account of the story of Hermaphroditos.
As a disclaimer, I invite you to follow any myth you please. I’m just personally not a fan of Ovid and I would ask you to reconsider some of his recountings of myths.
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Sources:
Lloyd-Jones, H. (1999). The Pride of Halicarnassus
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20190332
Curran, L. C. (1978). Rape and Rape Victims of the Metamorphoses
In honor of pride month, I know Aphrodite's existence as Aphroditos would and will make every dumbass terf that tries to use her/him as a hate symbol sob uncontrollably ❤
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Something that is very beautiful that not a lot of people understand is that Aphrodite has actually been depicted as a male god before in ancient times. Additionally, I would even say that she's been recognized as gender-fluid religiously, and possibly trans / intersex (though I tend to see Hermaphroditus as the intersex Greek deity and I'd need to look more into those ideas in regards to Aphrodite with a closer lens to make a post about them). There's a lot of symbolism and meaning for this, but I really wanted to just introduce you guys to the idea visually:
Table of Contents:
Aphroditus (Aphroditos)
Herm of Aphroditos
The Bearded Aphrodite / Venus
Resources to Learn More
Disclaimer
Aphroditus (Aphroditos):
Aphroditus is the male and / or androgynous variation of Aphrodite.
Origin: Cyprus
Also worshipped in: Athens (later on, in 4th century BC)
Herm of Aphroditus:
Herms were typically used for protection when going outdoors, and were placed in front of homes as well as other places such as personal gardens. Herms typically are of a male deity with a large and / or erect penis. (I might make another post on herms later so I won't go too far into detail haha, but they are usually deities like Hermes or his son Priapus so this is a super interesting statue of Aphroditos to find)
The Bearded Aphrodite / Venus:
Yup! This variation of Aphrodite even survived into Rome. This version of her / him / them is known as Bearded Aphrodite or even Venus Barbata (Bearded Venus). Sometimes, she / he is (or they are) depicted with a scepter, bald(? hard to confirm this one), or with other traits -- but she he is (or they are) always, well, bearded!
Resources to Learn More:
*Please note: Any actual book listed below I haven't read in-full, and these are just sources if you're curious, please still research further on your own. Thank you!!
An article on Aphrodite through a Queer Theory lens (according to a Classicist): IMAGINING TRANS APHRODITE
Check out this book by archaeologist Marie-Louise Winbladh: The Bearded Goddess | San Francisco Public Library | BiblioCommons (ebook) The Bearded Goddess: Androgynes, goddesses and monsters in ancient Cyprus: Winbladh, Marie-Louise: 9789963706310: Amazon.com: Books (paperback)
A paper on androgynous beings (including Aphroditus; written by an independent scholar): Tresi-Nonno-2018-Images-of-androgynous-beings-of-Jomon-epoch-Cultural-Anthropology-and-Ethnosemiotics-Vol-4-N-4-pp-49-62.pdf
A book on Aphroditos becoming "submerged" with Hermaphroditus to form their view of Aphrodite: The Salmakis Inscription and Hellenistic Halikarnassos - Google Books
Some brief excerpts about Beaded Aphrodite and Aphroditos) (Aphrodite and Hermaphroditus becoming confused as each other due to Aphroditos: Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity - Luc Brisson - Google Books
An article about Aphrodite's cult in Cyprus: CYPRUS: Myth and Cult of Aphrodite on Cyprus
This is an article about Aphritodus but I was only able to use google translate so I'm not sure how good it is but it seems okay: Αφρόδιτος: Η Transgender θεότητα της Αρχαίας Ελλάδας
A folklorist's work on the Bearded Venus: The Bearded Venus on JSTOR
Some modern interpretations by a 2019 fine arts plastic artist: (PDF) Bearded Venus of Cyprus
This miscellaneous and quick article I found on Aphrodite and marriage: Bearded Aphrodite | Samizdat again not sure how accurate this one is but I still found it to be a fun read and I will likely look further into its claims later
"Aphrodite Beyond Binaries" which has some digestible insights and some sources linked as well: Aphrodite Beyond Binaries - by Sophie Strand
A book that also highlighted Bearded Aphrodite: Scythians and Greeks: Cultural Interactions in Scythia, Athens and the Early ... - Google Books
Disclaimers:
Please look further into these subjects before taking my word about the artifact details. It was difficult to research personally because most of my resources about them I came across long ago and never saved, including some texts. Thank you!
This is how the gods I work with/worship appear to me, divined either from dreams, meditation, or images that pop into my mind that I inexplicably associate with a deity!
Hades: switches between(?) a black cloak that covers his whole body and melts into the shadows and a black suit with dark grey pinstripes, very pale skin, very tall (taller than Persephone), long black hair, wears a three-point black/darkened silver crown with black jewels in each point
Persephone: tan, olive-toned skin, long curly brown hair, golden-brown eyes(?) a long berry colored dress (darker pinkish-red) with red flowers on the shoulders, significantly taller than a human (this is what I’m guessing is her spring outfit, I don’t know what her winter one looks like yet since it’s still summer)
Dionysus: long, curly black hair, dark skin with red undertones, fat, either wine red or black eyes, warm-toned dark purple peplos dress, ivy crown
Athena: Big barn owl wings, nose (/face?) looks like a barn owl beak (/face?), has its helm, has gray eyes, wears a long, flowing white dress with dark gold or bronze buckles/pins/belt, gold sandals(?), long brown hair
Hermes: blonde hair, classic white chiton (exomis maybe?) with gold clasps, gold winged sandles, looks closer to my height from what i can tell
Artemis: young woman, thick, flowy/wavy black hair, sparkling eyes, pale skin, maybe a silver crown/band(??) white/silvery peplos dress, barefoot (I think), human height “so the women she guards/hunts with won’t be afraid of her” (paraphrased explanation from my first meditation with her)
Apollo: long, light golden hair, tan skin, golden(?) eyes, athletic, elegant, white exomis(?), very tall, has supportive camp counselor energy
Aphrodite/Aphroditos: very soothing voice, soft, pale, peachy skin, LONG-ASS flowing dark reddish hair, naked (couldn’t pick out any specific clothes), much taller than most humans, very much seashell vibes; as Aphroditos he looks like red-haired Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle and has the same ethereal, magical pretty boy vibes
