Man has always been attracted by an amazing and unexplored world. Cosmic phenomena, natural disasters and even deviations in the structure of the human body - all incomprehensible is reflected in myths. One of the ancient Greek legends is devoted to the unnatural combination of male and female external signs in the body of one person - hermaphroditism.
Hermaphrodite - who is this?
Modern science treats hermaphroditism as a two-cavity or androgyny. In the plant and animal world, this phenomenon is considered a natural phenomenon that arose in the course of evolution, a necessity. In the human community - this pathology, caused by painful violations of the genetic background. Identify true hermaphroditism in humans and false.
True hermaphroditism presupposes the presence in the human body of both male and female glands simultaneously. Their function is to produce sex cells (spermatozoa and eggs) and sex hormones. The result of a hormonal disorder is the presence in a person of secondary signs of the opposite sex (breast development, facial and body hair, voice timbre).
False hermaphroditism is manifested only in appearance. In the structure of the human body there are signs of both sexes, while its internal system is represented either by male or female glands. Thus, medicine, gives a clear and unequivocal answer to the question of who a hermaphrodite is - a person with signs of both sexes.
Hermaphrodite - Greek mythology
One of the myths of Ancient Greece is described by the philosopher Plato in his Dialogues "Feast". He narrates about the existence of the genus androgyne - two-sexed people with four legs and four arms. Were these people self-sufficient and perfect. But they imagined themselves above the gods and decided to overthrow Olympus. Then the enraged Zeus ordered to cut each androgyne in half, and the resulting half, male and female, he scattered around the world.
Since then, all people are born unhappy. They spend their lives looking for their half to find happiness and love. Having met a seemingly suitable person, they are doomed to doubts about its ideality. Only Hermaphrodite-mythology is an ideal creation that unites the masculine and feminine principle that has experienced true happiness and does not need someone's love.
Hermaphrodite is a legend
The ancient Greeks created in the myths an artistic picture of the surrounding reality. Even such an anomaly as hermaphroditism is the result of the love of two higher beings - the Goddess of love and beauty and God of deceit and deceit. According to one of the legends, the Hermaphrodite, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite (this is evidenced by his name), was a fine and athletically built young man.
The constant attention and admiration of others made the young Hermaphrodite arrogant and narcissistic. One day on a hot day, he came to a cool spring to bathe. There, on the shore of the lake, he saw a girl-nymph and fell in love without memory. She blazed with an extraordinary passion for a stranger. This fateful meeting completely changed not only the life of the young man, but himself.
Hermaphrodite and Salmakid
The nymph lived near the source and differed from her friends in beauty and idleness. Her name was Salmakid. She prayed the Hermaphrodite for love. But the arrogant young man refused her reciprocity. Then the beautiful nymph turned to the gods with a request to help her to merge with her beloved in ecstasy. The gods fulfilled her request, and literally. Two men entered the lake, a young man and a girl, and one man came out, the first hermaphrodite, a myth, half-man, half-woman.
Hermaphrodites in mythology
Who are hermaphrodites? In some nations, they were considered demigods, others - devil's offspring. In different religions and beliefs there are many androgynous characters. God is perfection, the unity of all principles, creative power, which implies a two-cavity. Hermaphrodite - mythology, thus, androgynous characters are found not only in the ancient Greek epic. However, due to the poetic nature of the Greek myths, the phenomenon of androgyny was called "hermaphroditism". After many centuries, the name of the mythical character became a household name.