Classics claim check: did the Romans proactively seek out children born with ambiguous genitalia—whom today we would call intersex—and kill them?
What are our sources? Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Julius Obsequens.
*To begin with, no ancient writer records the killing of a child born with ambiguous genitalia contemporary with the time they lived or are writing. All examples of the murder of intersex children are depicted as happening at some time in the past.
Infants or children who were labeled “semimas”, “androgynus”, or “hermaphroditus” are recorded among lists of ill-omens and portents that occurred during times of crisis. They are often listed alongside several other omens, for example a lamb born with a pig’s head, a pig born with a human’s head, a colt born with five feet, a child was born with an elephants head, it rained milk, it rained rocks, a cow spoke, the sky glowed red even though it was clear. (Liv. AUC XXXI.12; XXVII.11; XXVII.37; XXXIX.22.)
Pliny the Elder, NH VII.iii.34: “We call those who are born with sex characteristics of both ‘hermaphrodites’, called a long time ago ‘androgynus’ and considered portents, now however in pleasures/delights/as favorites” (Giguntur et utriusque sexu quos hermaphroditos vocamus, olim androgynos vocatos et in prodigiis habitos, nunc vero in deliciis.)
Julius Obsequens (4th/5th cent. CE) wrote a work (prodigiorum liber) listing the occurrence of portents/prodigies from the 3rd cent. BCE to the end of the 1st cent. BCE. It is believed that Obsequens’ primary source is Livy. Obsequens lists 9 cases of intersex children being killed, 8 of them by being thrown into a body of water, between 186 BCE and 92 BCE. However, like in Livy, all these instances are listed alongside other portents and date to a time of crisis for Rome, usually a military or political crisis.
Verdict: No, at least not in any systematic way. That intersex children are born or are found specifically during a time of crisis alongside other portents takes away from the credibility that intersex children were sought out by Roman religious officials and then killed. Livy’s recording of portents, which Julius Obsequens reiterates, has a specific agenda. Portents and prodigies amplify the crises experienced by the Romans to a divine level. Hannibal’s success against the Romans during the Second Punic War as recorded by Livy was seen as an overturning of nature itself and thus must have been accompanied by divine portents that reflected a universe turned on its head. Does this mean that Romans saw children born with ambiguous genitalia as unnatural or undesirable, yes probably. But more than anything it is a comment on the state of the Roman world during a particular moment.
On a different note, according to Diodorus Siculus (c. 90 BCE–c. 30 BCE) and Aulus Gellius (c. 125 CE–180 CE), some intersex people could be quite successful in the ancient Mediterranean world.
On December 9, 1867, the Zakynthian writer Grigorios Xenopoulos was born in Constantinople.His family moved to Zakynthos soon after, where Gregorios spent his youth until 1883, when he enrolled in the University of Athens to study physics and mathematics. He never completed his studies: already in the first year, he had begun writing literature, which was his sole source of income at the time.
Xenopoulos was a prolific writer. He wrote over 80 novels and a large number of short stories. He first became known to the literary world through his first novel: “Ο Άνθρωπος του Κόσμου” (O anthropos tou kosmou, “Man of the world”). This novel and his next one, “Nikolas Sigalos” (1890), written in the New Athenian style, were not successful. He then turned for inspiration to his birthplace, Zakynthos, and as a result wrote some of his best novels, such as “Magaret Stefa” (1893) and Κόκκινος Βράχος (Kokkinos Vrachos, “Red Rock”, 1905). These were followed by further novels in the New Athenian style: “Ο πόλεμος” (O polemos, “War”, 1914), “Οι Μυστικοί Αρραβώνες” (I mystikoi aravones, “The Secret Engagement”, 1915) and the Ionian School novel “Laura” (1915), which was also one of his most admired. But his most ambitious work was the trilogy: “Πλούσιοι και φτωχοί” (plousioi kai ftochoi, “The Rich and the Poor”, 1919), “Τίμιοι και άτιμοι” (Timioi kai atimoi, “The Honest and the Dishonest”, 1921), “Τυχεροί και άτυχοι” (Tycheroi kai atychoi, “The Lucky and the Unlucky”, 1924). Other novels include: “Αναδυομένη” (Anadyomeni, 1923), “Ισαβέλλα” (Isabella, 1923), “Τερέζα Βάρμα-Δακόστα” (Teresa Varma-Dakosta, 1925).His novels are set in Athens and Zakynthos, and he is considered to be a proponent of the “urban novel”. The main theme of his works is love, particularly love between people of different classes. His work has been criticised for putting quantity ahead of quality, with many sequels, and for pandering to the tastes of his readers with scenes which were sexually provocative for the period. However he has also been praised for his narrative strength and ability to hold the readers attention.
Hesiod and Hávamál: Transitions and the Transmission of Wisdom
Lilah Grace Canevaro
Oral Tradition Volume 29, Number 1
This article offers fresh insights into Hesiod’s Works and Days by comparing it with the Eddic Hávamál, a didactic poem far removed in terms of geography and date, but compellingly close in subject matter, construction, and transmission. It finds parallels between the poems in…
@readingancientclassics on Instagram is dedicated to discussions of ancient texts, reviews of myth retellings, and group read-alongs of classical literature. I’d love for you to join me there
“I wondered how many of them had wives waiting for them, mothers and daughters perhaps. What would those women think if they could see their menfolk, as they stood guard over us, the weeping, grieving survivors of Troy?” ― Jennifer Saint, Elektra
[Ακολουθεί το τελευταίο σημείωμα του Καρυωτάκη, διαβάστε με σύνεση]
Είναι καιρός να φανερώσω την τραγωδία μου. Το μεγαλύτερο μου ελάττωμα στάθηκε η αχαλίνωτη περιέργειά μου, η νοσηρή φαντασία και η προσπάθειά μου να πληροφορηθώ για όλες τις συγκινήσεις, χωρίς τις περσότερες, να μπορώ να τις αισθανθώ. Τη χυδαία όμως πράξη που μου αποδίδεται τη μισώ. Εζήτησα μόνο την ιδεατή ατμόσφαιρά της, την έσχατη πικρία. Ούτε είμαι ο κατάλληλος άνθρωπος για το επάγγελμα εκείνο. Ολόκληρο το παρελθόν μου πείθει γι’ αυτό. Κάθε πραγματικότης μου ήταν αποκρουστική. Είχα τον ίλιγγο του κινδύνου. Και τον κίνδυνο που ήρθε τον δέχομαι με πρόθυμη καρδιά. Πληρώνω για όσους, καθώς εγώ, δεν έβλεπαν κανένα ιδανικό στη ζωή τους, έμειναν πάντα έρμαια των δισταγμών τους, ή εθεώρησαν την ύπαρξη τους παιχνίδι χωρίς ουσία. Τους βλέπω να έρχονται ολοένα περισσότεροι μαζί με τους αιώνες. Σ’ αυτούς απευθύνομαι. Αφού εδοκίμασα όλες τις χαρές !!! είμαι έτοιμος για έναν ατιμωτικό θάνατο. Λυπούμαι τους δυστυχισμένους γονείς μου, λυπούμαι τα αδέλφια μου. Αλλά φεύγω με το μέτωπο ψηλά. Ημουν άρρωστος. Σας παρακαλώ να τηλεγραφήσετε, για να προδιαθέσει την οικογένειά μου, στο θείο μου Δημοσθένη Καρυωτάκη, οδός Μονής Προδρόμου, πάροδος Αριστοτέλους, Αθήνας.
Κ.Γ.Κ.
[Υ.Γ.] Και για ν’ αλλάξουμε τόνο. Συμβουλεύω όσους ξέρουν κολύμπι να μην επιχειρήσουνε ποτέ να αυτοκτονήσουν δια θαλάσσης. Όλη νύχτα απόψε επί δέκα ώρες, εδερνόμουν με τα κύματα. Ηπια άφθονο νερό, αλλά κάθε τόσο, χωρίς να καταλάβω πώς, το στόμα μου ανέβαινε στην επιφάνεια. Ορισμένως, κάποτε, όταν μου δοθεί η ευκαιρία, θα γράψω τις εντυπώσεις ενός πνιγμένου.
ΟΚώστας Καρυωτάκης (30 Οκτωβρίου 1896 - 21 Ιουλίου 1928) ήταν Έλληναςποιητής και πεζογράφος. Θεωρείται ως ο κυριότερος εκφραστής της σύγχρονης λυρικής ποίησης και τα έργα του έχουν μεταφραστεί σε περισσότερες από τριάντα γλώσσες. Για το έργο του έχουν γραφεί εκατοντάδες εργασίες και βιβλία, πραγματοποιήθηκαν δεκάδες ειδικά συνέδρια.
- Δηλαδή στη ζωή περισσότερο αξίζουν αυτά που χάνεις παρά αυτά που βρίσκεις, η Όρσα προχώρησε σ'ένα βιαστικό συμπέρασμα, κάτι την έκαιγε, μια εμμονή, μια αμφιβολία, κάτι.
- Αυτά που βρίσκεις ξαναχάνονται, τόνισε η Νανά τις λέξεις μία μια, αυτά που έχασες υπάρχουν για πάντα.
