Sympheron the Gardener: Phlegon of Tralles De Mirab. 8

Sympheron the Gardener

Name: Phlegon of Tralles Date:    2nd century CE Region:   Tralles [modern Turkey] Citation:    On Marvels 8

At the same time in Epidaurus, there was another person [1], born of poor parents, whose name was Sympherousa. Turning into a man, they began to be called Sympheron, and spent the rest of their life gardening.

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[1] Whereas modern authors use separate terminology, Phlegon of Tralles used the term ἀνδρόγυνος as an umbrella term for both trans and intersex people. Due to the ambiguous nature of the text, I am not using either label here.  

Καὶ ἄλλος δέ τις ἀνδρόγυνος κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἐγένετο ἐν Επιδαύρῳ, γονέων ἀπόρων παῖς ὅς ἐκαλεῖτο πρότερον Συμφέρουσα. ἀνὴρ δὲ γενόμενος, ὠνομάζετο Συμφέρων. κηπουρῶν δὲ τὸν βίον διῆγεν.

Eodemque tempore Epidauri alius fuit androgynus, natus inopibus parentibus, cui nomen prius erat Sympherusa: in virum autem mutatus, Sympheron coepit vocari, vitamque colendis hortis trivit. Translated into Latin by  Wilhelm Xylander

Phlegon of Tralles [2nd century CE, modern Turkey] According to the Suda [φ527], Phlegon of Tralles was a freedman of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. He wrote numerous works in Greek that are now lost, including the Olympiads and Roman festivals. His work, On Marvels, is a collection of extraordinary occurrences throughout history.