Siproites

In Greek mythology, Siproites (/sɪprˈɔɪtɪs/, sip-ROY-teez; Ancient Greek: Σιπροίτης, romanized: 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.

Mythology

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

μεταβαλεῖν δὲ καὶ τὸν Κρῆτα Σιπροίτην,
ὅτι κυνηγετῶν λουομένην εἶδε τὴν Ἄρτεμιν.

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

—Antoninus Liberalis, 17 —Francis Celoria

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.

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 distress and punishment.

See also

• Caeneus
• Leucippus
• Iphis
• Calydon
• Tiresias

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.