HERMAPHRODITUS, in Greek mythology a being, partly male, partly female, of little importance in cult (first named in Theophrastus, Charact. 28 [ 16]) ; the Superstitious Man garlands the Hermaphroditi (see Jebb-Sandys l.c.). The conception undoubtedly had its origin in the East, where deities of a similar dual nature frequently occur. Within the Greek area, it is found in Cyprus. Here, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia, iii. 8,2) there was a bearded statue of a male Aph rodite, called Aphroditos by Aristophanes. The legend is a pro duct of the Hellenistic period. In accordance with this, Hermaph roditus is the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, of whom the nymph of the fountain of Salmacis in Caria became enamoured. When he bathed in her fountain, she entreated the gods that she might be forever united with him. The result was the formation of a being half man, half woman. This story is told by Ovid (Metam. iv. 285 et seq.) to explain the peculiarly enervating qualities of the water of the fountain. Hermaphroditus was a favourite subject in later Greek art.
See articles in Daremberg and Saglio, Dictionnaire des antiquites, and Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologie; and for art, A. Baumeister, Denkmiiler des klassischen Altertums (1884-88) .