LGBTQ People In Greek Mythology

Persecution has been a recurring theme throughout history, and LGBTQ people were never safe from it. Today, many countries turn a blind eye to the problems the LGBTQ community faces, even openly villainizing it, other states consider any presence of the community a destruction of the traditional morals of society. However, not only are LGBTQ people found in every country and period of time, they are embedded in many mythologies. The existence of LGBTQ people in the ancient world should be discussed more within history since most ancient mythologies are laced with LGBTQ themes. Taking a look at Greek, Chinese, and Hindu mythologies will prove that queer people have always existed.
Today Greece is a rather conservative country, yet back in the …show more content…
Born a woman named Caenis, he was seduced and abducted by Poseidon, who fell in love with him. Poseidon promised to grant any wish to his beloved, so Caenis wished to become a man. Not only did Poseidon keep his promise, he also made his skin invisible to all weapons, so that no one could harm his lover. Caenis changed his name to Caeneus and became a hero. The myth of Iphis is also one about a transgender man. Ligdus and Telethusa were a poor couple who would not be able to afford a dowry if a daughter was born. So when Telethusa got pregnant, Ligdus commanded his wife to kill the child if it was a girl. Not long before the due date, the goddess appeared to Telethusa, telling the woman to keep the baby no matter what, for they both would be protected by Isis. A girl was born and Telethusa decided to hide the child’s true sex and raise the baby as a boy named Iphis. From a young age Iphis was betrothed to a girl named Ianthe, the two children grew up together and later fell in love. Telethusa and Iphis both knew their lives would fall apart on the wedding night when Iphis’ true sex would be revealed, thus they sought help from Isis at her temple. The …show more content…
However, Hindu myths have numerous tales of queer deities and heroes and same-sex love. Mohini is one of the examples of transgender women in mythology. One of the myths about her begins with an asura praying to Shiva for days, Shiva answers the asura’s prayers and appears in front of him, willing to grant him any wish. The asura, Bhasma, wishes to have the power to burn anyone to ashes with the touch of his hand on their head, Shiva grants without considering the consequences. Bhasma decided to try out his new power on Shiva himself, so Shiva fled in terror and sought Vishnu’s help. Vishnu answered Shiva’s prayers by transforming in the enchantress Mohini. Mohini’s beauty captivated Bhasma, and overcome by lust he asked Mohini to marry him. The enchantress agreed on one condition, Bhasma had to repeat her dance which included her touching her head. Lost in Mohini’s beauty Bhasma repeated every part of the dance, thus killing himself. After Shiva was saved, he also fell for Vishnu in Mohini’s form, the god even abandoned his wife for Mohini. Their love resulted in the creation of many great warriors. Transgender heroes and gods often appear in Hindu mythology, another example is Shikhandi. The powerful king of Panchala, Drupada, was convinced by Shiva that he would have a boy, so even when a girl was born he decided to