Siproites

Cretan hero in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Siproites (/sɪprˈɔɪtɪs/, sip-ROY-teez; Greek: Σιπροίτης, translit. Siproítēs), also romanized as Siproetes or Siproeta, is the name of a minor Cretan hero, who saw the goddess Artemis naked while she was bathing and was then transformed into a woman, paralleling the story of the hunter Actaeon.^[1]^[2]

Mythology

Siproites, while hunting, saw Artemis bathing naked; in response to the offence, the virgin goddess turned him into a woman.^[3] The myth is narrated in a single line:

The Cretan, Siproites, had also been turned into a woman for having seen Artemis bathing when out hunting.^[4]^[5]

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 mention within the context of a different myth, in which a Cretan woman named Galatea lists various occasions of gods changing the gender of mortals while begging the goddess Leto to change her daughter Leucippus into a boy, so that the girl's father Lamprus who had wished for a son will not kill the infant.^[6]^[7]

Symbolism

This sex-change tale shares some similarities with the myth of the goddess Athena blinding a man named Tiresias for seeing her naked,^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

In Greek mythology female-to-male transformation is treated as a positive outcome and 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.^[11]

Notes

^ Wright, Rosemary M. "A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations". mythandreligion.upatras.gr. University of Patras. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
^ Roscher 1909, p. 950.
^ "Ludwig Preller: Griechische Mythologie I - Theogonie, Götter". www.projekt-gutenberg.org (in German). Retrieved 2021-11-12.
^ Antoninus Liberalis, 17: "μεταβαλεῖν δὲ καὶ τὸν Κρῆτα Σιπροίτην, ὅτι κυνηγετῶν λουομένην εἶδε τὴν Ἄρτεμιν."
^ Patsi-Garin 1969, p. 677.
^ Celoria 1992, p. 71.
^ Krappe, Alexander Haggerty (1928). "Teiresias and the Snakes". The American Journal of Philology. 49 (3): 269–70. doi:10.2307/290092. JSTOR 290092. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^ Fontenrose 1981, p. 125.
^ Hard 2004, p. 192.
^ Forbes Irving 1990, p. 89.
^ Frontisi-Ducroux, Françoise (October 1, 2009). "L'invention de la métamorphose" [The Invention of Transformation]. Rue Descartes (in French). 64 (2): 8–22. doi:10.3917/rdes.064.0008. ISSN 1144-0821. Retrieved August 15, 2023.

References

Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis, translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at topos text.
Celoria, Francis (1992). The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary. Canada, USA: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06896-7.
Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy (1981). Orion: The Myth of the Hunter and the Huntress. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09632-0.
Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990). Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814730-9.
Hard, Robin (2004). The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology". Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415186360.
Patsi-Garin, Emmy (1969). Επίτομο λεξικό Ελληνικής Μυθολογίας [Epitomic Dictionary of Greek Mythology] (in Greek). Athens: Χάρη Πάτση publications.
Roscher, Wilhelm Heinrich (1909). Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie [Detailed dictionary of Greek and Roman mythology] (in German). Vol. IV. Leipzig: Teubner-Verlag.

Metamorphoses in Greek mythology

Animals

Avian	Abas Acanthis Acanthus Acmon Aëdon Aegolius Aegypius Aëtos Aesacus Agrius and Oreius Agron Alcander Alcyone Alcyone and Ceyx Alcyonides Alectryon Anthus Antigone Argus Arne Sithonis Artemiche Ascalaphus Asteria Autonous Botres Bulis Byssa Caeneus Celeus Cerberus Chelidon Cinyras Clinis Combe Corone Ctesylla Cycnus of Aetolia Cycnus of Ares Cycnus of Colonae Cycnus of Liguria Daedalion Erinoma Erodius Eumelus Gerana Harpalyce Harpasus Harpe Hierax Hippodamia Hyperippe Hyria Ictinus Idas Ino Itys Iynx Laius Lelante Lycius Lycus Megaletor Meleagrids Memnonides Meropis Merops Minyades Munichus Neophron Nisus Nyctaea Nyctimene Oenoe Oenotropae Ortygius Pandareus Pelia Perdix Periphas Peristera Picus Pierides Phene Philaeus Philomela Pleiades Polyphonte Polytechnus Procne Rhexenor Schoeneus Scylla Tereus Timandra
Non-avian	Abas Actaeon Arachne Arcas Arge Aristaeus Ascalabus Atalanta Cadmus Calchus Callisto Cephissus Cerambus Cercopes Chelone Circe Curetes Cynosura Galanthis Gale Harmonia Hecuba Helice Hippomenes Io Lycaon Lycian peasants Lyncus Melanippe Melian nymphs Melissa Minyades Myia Myrmex Naïs Nerites Ocyrhoe Odysseus Pentheus Phalanx Phineus Phoenice Pompilus Taygete Theophane Tiresias Titanis Tithonus Tyrrhenian pirates Aethalides Alcimedon Dictys Epopeus Melas Medon Opheltes

Avian