Siproites
Cretan hero in Greek mythology
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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. Siproites' very brief story only survives in the works of Antoninus Liberalis; if any larger narrative concerning him existed, it has been lost.
Etymology
The origin of Siproites' name is hard to pin down. Carnoy suggested a derivation from the word σιπαλός meaning "ugly, coarse" but this etymology is rather unlikely. Höfer meanwhile proposed that the si- syllable is a dialectal form for θεός, "god". Carnoy taking this further alternatively suggested "he who advances towards the gods".[1]
Mythology
The Cretan Siproites, while hunting, saw Artemis bathing naked;[2] in response to the offence, the virgin goddess turned him into a woman.[3][4] 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.
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,[6][7] 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.[5][8]
Symbolism
This sex-change tale shares some similarities with the myth of the goddess Athena blinding a man named Tiresias for seeing her naked,[7] 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;[9] it has been noted that in comparison to Actaeon, Artemis was rather lenient toward Siproites for what was the same offence.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12]
