Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
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*'''Venus''', the Roman counterpart to Aphrodite, also had gender variant aspects.'''Venus Barbata''', an aspect of the goddess Venus, grew a beard and dressed as a man in order to court a gay man. This deity was patron of sex workers and of socially taboo love and sex, particularly homosexuality.<ref>Raven Kaldera, Hermaphrodeities, p. 72-74.</ref> '''Venus Biformis''' was both male and female. Another aspect of Venus was '''Venus Castina''', who was associated with "the yearnings of feminine souls locked in male bodies."<ref>Bulliet, Clarence Joseph (1956). ''Venus Castina: Famous Female Impersonators, Celestial and Human''. Bonanza Books. Unpaged.</ref> Her followers included men who dressed as women, and she’s said to have turned some men into women. | *'''Venus''', the Roman counterpart to Aphrodite, also had gender variant aspects.'''Venus Barbata''', an aspect of the goddess Venus, grew a beard and dressed as a man in order to court a gay man. This deity was patron of sex workers and of socially taboo love and sex, particularly homosexuality.<ref>Raven Kaldera, Hermaphrodeities, p. 72-74.</ref> '''Venus Biformis''' was both male and female. Another aspect of Venus was '''Venus Castina''', who was associated with "the yearnings of feminine souls locked in male bodies."<ref>Bulliet, Clarence Joseph (1956). ''Venus Castina: Famous Female Impersonators, Celestial and Human''. Bonanza Books. Unpaged.</ref> Her followers included men who dressed as women, and she’s said to have turned some men into women. | ||
* '''Cybele''', a goddess who was in some interpretations both male and female. Her priestesses were trans-feminine eunuchs called [[Gallae]]. | * '''Cybele''', a goddess who was in some interpretations both male and female. Her priestesses were trans-feminine eunuchs called [[Gallae]]. | ||
* '''Dionysus''' is a deity of wine, madness, vegetation, pleasure, and frenzy. His tradition is broadly reaching, so accounts do not agree on aspects of his gender. However, some popular accounts agree on certain aspects of his gender. Dionysus, by most accounts, was raised by nymphs on Mt. Nysa. There, he was raised as a woman. <ref> [https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosMyths.html#Birth] <ref | * '''Dionysus''' is a deity of wine, madness, vegetation, pleasure, and frenzy. His tradition is broadly reaching, so accounts do not agree on aspects of his gender. However, some popular accounts agree on certain aspects of his gender. Dionysus, by most accounts, was raised by nymphs on Mt. Nysa. There, he was raised as a woman. <ref> [https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosMyths.html#Birth] </ref> In most traditions, he is seen as effeminate, and sometimes is seen as changing gender. <ref> [https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosGod.html#Homosexuality] </ref> | ||
* '''Hermaphroditus''' was a Greek deity who was both male and female, who was shown in art as a beautiful woman with a penis. One version of this deity's origin was that Hermes (the messenger god) united with Aphrodite (the goddess of love) to become Hermaphroditus.<ref>Walker, A Woman’s Dictionary, p. 195.</ref> Another story said instead that Hermaphroditus was originally the beautiful male son of Hermes and Aphrodite. The lake nymph Salmacis raped him, wishing them to never separate again, so the gods made them one being. The gods also granted the victim's wish that anyone who bathed in that lake would lose their virility.<ref>Pierre Grimal and Stephen Kershaw, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', p. 197.</ref> This is the origin of the word "hermaphrodite.". | * '''Hermaphroditus''' was a Greek deity who was both male and female, who was shown in art as a beautiful woman with a penis. One version of this deity's origin was that Hermes (the messenger god) united with Aphrodite (the goddess of love) to become Hermaphroditus.<ref>Walker, A Woman’s Dictionary, p. 195.</ref> Another story said instead that Hermaphroditus was originally the beautiful male son of Hermes and Aphrodite. The lake nymph Salmacis raped him, wishing them to never separate again, so the gods made them one being. The gods also granted the victim's wish that anyone who bathed in that lake would lose their virility.<ref>Pierre Grimal and Stephen Kershaw, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', p. 197.</ref> This is the origin of the word "hermaphrodite.". | ||
* '''Pales''', a Roman shepherd deity seen as male, female, or multiple deities at different times. | * '''Pales''', a Roman shepherd deity seen as male, female, or multiple deities at different times. | ||