Siproites

InGreek mythology,Siproites(/sɪprˈɔɪtɪs/,sip-ROY-teez;Greek:Σιπροίτης,translit.Siproítēs), also romanized asSiproetesorSiproeta,is the name of a minorCretanhero, a hunter who saw the goddessArtemisnaked while she was bathing and was then transformed into a woman as punishment, paralleling the story of the hunterActaeon.

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, asAntoninus Liberalisalone preserves the tale in a brief and obscure reference,and that within the context of an altogether different myth in which a Cretan woman namedGalatealists various occasions of gods changing the sex of mortals while begging the goddessLetoto change her daughterLeucippusinto a boy, fearing her husbandLamprus'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 goddessAthenablinding a man namedTiresiasfor 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 asAttisandOrion.

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 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.ISBN0-415-06896-7.
• Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy(1981).Orion: The Myth of the Hunter and the Huntress.Berkeley, Los Angeles:University of California Press.ISBN0-520-09632-0.
• Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990).Metamorphosis in Greek Myths.Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford, New York, Toronto:Oxford University Press,Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-814730-9.
• Hard, Robin (2004).The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology".Psychology Press.ISBN9780415186360.
• 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.