A Trans Woman: Leucippus, Antoninus Liberalis, Metam. 17

From Daughter to Son: Leucippos

Name:  Antoninus Liberalis Date:  2nd – 3rd century CE Region:  Unknown Citation:    Metamorphoses 17

Galatea, the Spartan daughter of Eurytius, married Lamprus, the son of Cretan King Pandion. Lamprus was from a famous but poor family.  When Galatea became pregnant, Lamprus wanted a boy, and ordered her to expose the infant if she gave birth to a girl. While Lamprus was out tending his flocks, Galatea gave birth to the girl. Swollen with milk and sleep deprived, Galatea thought about how empty their home was when Lamprus was away, and pitied the infant. She deceived Lamprus and said she gave birth to a boy.  She raised the girl with the name Leucippus, as if the girl were a boy.

When the girl went through puberty and became astoundingly beautiful, Galatea could no longer hide what she had done and fled to the temple of Diana and Apollo’s divine mother Latona.

She laid out her case to the goddess with ceaseless prayers, praying that her daughter be transformed into a man and using the following precedents:

·        * Caenis, the daughter of Atrax, was changed into a man by the will of Neptune. 

·       *  Tiresias, too, went from man to woman by slaying a pair of snakes mating by the side of the road.  Then they returned to being a man by slaying another snake. 

·        Hypermestra sold herself as a woman to earn money

for her father, and changed back into a man to bring the proceeds back to their father Aethon. 

·        Siproetis, a Cretan lad, accidentally saw Minerva bathing while he was hunting and was transformed into a woman.

Latona pitied the woman's prayers and changed her daughter into a son.

From Daughter to Son: Leucippos

Γαλάτεια ἡ Εὐρυτίου τοῦ Σπάρτωνος ἐγήματὸ ἐν Φαίστῳ τῆς Κρήτης Λάμπρῳ τῷ Πανδίονος, ἀνδρὶ τὰ μὲν εἰς γένος εὖ ἔχοντι, βίου δὲ ἐνδεεῖ. Οὗτος, ἐπειδὴ ἐγκύμων ἦν ἡ Γαλάτεια ηὔξατο μὲν ἄῤῥενα γενέσθαι αὐτῷ παῖδα. προηγόρευσε δὲ τῇ γυναικὶ, ἐὰν γεννήσῃ κόρην, ἀφανίσαι. Καὶ οὗτος μὲν ἀπιὼν ἐποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατα, τῇ δὲ Γαλατείᾳ θυγάτηρ ἐγένετο. Καὶ κατοικτείρασα τὸ βρέφος καὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν τοῦ οἴκου λογισαμένη συλλαμβανόντων, δ ̓ ἔτι καὶ τῶν ὀνείρων καὶ τῶν μάντεων, οἵ προηγόρευον τὴν κόρην ὡς κόρον ἐκτρέφειν, εψεύσατο τὸν Λάμπρον ἄῤῥεν, λέγουσα τεκεῖν καὶ ἐξέτρεφεν ὡς παῖδα κοῦρον, ὀνομάσασα Λεύκιππον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ηὔξετο ἡ κόρη καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφατόν τι κάλλος, δείσασα τον Λάμπρον ἡ Γαλάτεια, ὡς οὐκ ἐνῆν ἔτι λαθεῖν, κατέφυγεν εἰς τὸ τῆς Λητοῦς ἱερὸν καὶ πλεῖστα τὴν θεὸν ἑκέτευσεν,

Filia Eurytii F. Spartonis Galatea, Phaesti Critae nupsit Lampro Pandionis F. viro natalibus non obscuris, sed inopi. Is cum uxor gravida esset, voto masculam sibi prolem expetens, edixit mulieri, si filiam peperisset, uti ne eam tolleret. Simul ad oves pascendas digressus: Galatea filiam partu edidit: &  miserta infantis, solitudinemque familiae reputans, insomniis adstipulantibus, et ariolis pro filio eam educatre iubentibus, Lamprum decepit, filium se enixam professa: puellamque nomine Leucippi affectam, tanquam filius si esset, enutriit. Cum adolevisset puella, & ineffabili esset pulchritudine, metuens sibi a marito Galatea, cum res diutius tegi non posset, in fanum Latonae confugit:

εἴπως αὐτῇ κόρος ἡ παῖς ἀντὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς δύναιτο γενέσθαι. Τειρεσίας δὲ γυνὴ μὲν ἐξ ἀνδρὸς, ὅτι τοὺς ἐν τῇ τριόδῳ μιγνύμένους ὄφεις ἐντυχὼν ἀπέκτεινεν, ἐκ δὲ γυναικὸς αὐτις ἀνὴρ ἐγένετο διὰ τὸ δράκοντα πολλάκις πατάξαι, καὶ Ὑπερμήστραν πιπρασκομένην ἐπὶ γυναικὶ μὲν αἴρασθαι τίμον, ἄνδρα δὲ γενομένην Αἴθων τροφὴν ἀποφέρειν τῷ πατρί. μεταβαλεῖν δὲ καὶ τὸν Κρῆτα Σιπροίτην, ὅτι κυνηγετῶν λουομένην ἴδε τὴν Ἄρτεμιν. Ἡ δὲ Λητὼ συνεχῶς ὀδυρομένην καὶ ἱκετεύσαν ᾤκτειρε τὴν Γαλάτειαν καὶ μετέβαλε τὴν φύσιν τῆς παιδὸς εἰς κόρον.

multisque a Dea precibus contendit, si filia in marem mutari posset: sicut Caenis Atracis filia, Neptuni voluntate in Caeneum Lapitham abiit: Tiresias ob interfectos in trivio coeuntes angues, de viro mulier fuit factus: rursusque virilem sexum adeptus est, quia draconem saepenumero Panastem autem & Hypermestram venditam pro muliere invenisse pretium: cum autem in virum esset mutata, alimenta Aethoni patri attulisse.  Cretensem quoque Siproetam mutatum, cum inter venandum lavantem vidisset Minervam. Latona continenter lamentantem & deprecantem miserata est Galateam, puellamque in puerum mutavit. Translated into Latin by William Xylander

 

Antoninus Liberalis [2nd – 3rd century CE] Little is known about the life of the Greek author Antoninus Liberalis. His work, Metamorphoses, is similar to the works of Hyginus in that they provide brief summaries of Greek and Roman myths.