Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these represent ...

, Iphis or Iphys ( , ; grc, Ἶφις ''Îphis'' , gen. Ἴφιδος ''Ī́phidos'') was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

, born female and raised male, who was later transformed by the goddess

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...

into a man.

Mythology

According to the Roman poet

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'', there was a humbly born, but well-respected, man named Ligdus who lived in Phaestus with his pregnant wife, Telethusa. Ligdus said he wished for two things: that his wife delivers the baby with as little pain as possible, and that the child would be a boy. As the couple was poor, they could not afford a dowry if their unborn child was born a girl. Ligdus was forced to come to the conclusion that they must kill the child if it was female. The couple cried, but Ligdus' mind was made up. Telethusa despaired, but was visited in the middle of the night by the Egyptian goddess Isis, along with a train of other gods:

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depi ...

Bastet Bastet or Bast ( egy, bꜣstjt, cop, Ⲟⲩⲃⲁⲥⲧⲉ, Oubaste , Phoenician: 𐤀𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: ’bst, or 𐤁𐤎𐤕, romanized: bst) was a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2 ...

Apis Apis or APIS may refer to: * Apis (deity), an ancient Egyptian god * Apis (Greek mythology), several different figures in Greek mythology * Apis (city), an ancient seaport town on the northern coast of Africa **Kom el-Hisn, a different Egyptian ci ...

Harpocrates Harpocrates ( grc, Ἁρποκράτης, Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤐𐤊𐤓𐤈, romanized: ḥrpkrṭ, ''harpokrates'') was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also ...

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He ...

, and the Egyptian serpent. Isis advised her to disobey her husband's orders and to keep the child, regardless of if it was a girl and guaranteed any needed future assistance to the woman. When Telethusa gave birth to a girl, she concealed her daughter's sex from her husband and raised her daughter as a boy. Lidgus named him Iphis, after his father; Telethusa was happy with the name, as it was gender neutral. As Iphis reached the age of adolescence, Ligdus, still unaware of the truth, arranged for his son to marry Ianthe, daughter of Telestes. Unaware of the truth and taking her suitor for a man like everyone else, Ianthe fell in love with Iphis, with whom she had been instructed alongside and shared the same teachers. Likewise, Iphis fell deeply in love with Ianthe. Iphis lamented and prayed to

Juno Juno commonly refers to: * Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

for assistance, as she wished to marry Ianthe, but knew it would be impossible as she was actually a woman. Telethusa procrastinated the wedding of her daughter, Iphis, until she was unable to delay any longer. One day before the wedding, the deeply concerned and desperate Telethusa brought Iphis to the temple of Isis and prayed to the goddess to help her daughter. Isis was deeply moved and responded by transforming Iphis into a man. The male Iphis married Ianthe and the two lived happily ever after, their marriage being presided over by Juno,

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, and

Hymenaios Hymen ( grc, Ὑμήν), Hymenaios or Hymenaeus, in Hellenistic religion, is a god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song. Related to the god's name, a ''hymenaios'' is a genre of Greek lyric poetry sung during the procession of the ...

. The story of Iphis is similar to that of

Leucippus Leucippus (; el, Λεύκιππος, ''Leúkippos''; fl. 5th century BCE) is a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who has been credited as the first philosopher to develop a theory of atomism. Leucippus' reputation, even in antiquity, was obscured ...

from Phaestus, Crete, and could be a variant thereof.Antoninus Liberalis
''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Section 17.
/ref>

Interpretations

The story of Iphis and Ianthe is the only mythological account of female same-sex desire, not only in Ovid, but in all of Greek mythology.Kamen
''Naturalized Desires and the Metamorphosis of Iphis''. 39(1), 21.
/ref> Whether Ovid disapproves of or is sympathetic toward female homoerotic desire has been a point of contention for scholars. The main social inscription in this myth is the need for a male heir in a patriarchal society and the inevitable misogyny this creates.

In popular culture

* The 17th-century publisher

Humphrey Moseley Humphrey Moseley (died 31 January 1661) was a prominent London publisher and bookseller in the middle seventeenth century. Life Possibly a son of publisher Samuel Moseley, Humphrey Moseley became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers Co ...

once claimed to possess a manuscript of a play based on the Iphis and Ianthe story, by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Scholars have treated the claim with intense skepticism; the play has not survived. *

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 A ...

's 2007 novel '' Girl Meets Boy'' is based on Ovid's story of Iphis and Ianthe, and is part of the Canongate Myth Series. * The Mechanisms' 2013 album Tales To Be Told features a song called "Iphis" based on the story of Iphis and Ianthe. * Liberty of London has fabric and leatherwork patterns named after both Iphis and Ianthe.

Note

References

Publius Ovidius Naso Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Authority control Metamorphoses into the opposite sex in Greek mythology Metamorphoses characters Cretan characters in Greek mythology Characters in Roman mythology Transgender topics and mythology LGBT themes in Greek mythology Fictional LGBT characters in literature