In Greek mythology, Siproites (/sɪprˈɔɪtɪs/; sip-ROY-teez; Greek: Σιπροίτης, translit. Siproítēs) or Siproetes is the name of a Cretan hero, who saw the goddess Artemis naked while she was bathing and was then transformed into a woman, paralleling the story of the hunter Actaeon.[1][2]
Siproites, while hunting, saw Artemis bathing naked; in response to the offence, the virgin goddess turned him into a woman.[3] The myth is narrated in a single line:
The Cretan, Siproites, had also been turned into a woman for having seen Artemis bathing when out hunting.[4][5]
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 mention within the context of a different myth, in which a Cretan woman named Galatea lists various occasions of gods changing the gender of mortals while begging the goddess Leto to change her daughter Leucippus into a boy, so that the girl's father Lamprus who wished for a son will not kill her.[6][7]
This sex-change tale shares similarities with the myth of Athena blinding Tiresias for seeing her naked,[8] 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; it has been noted that in comparison to Actaeon, Artemis was rather lenient toward Siproites for the same offence.[9] 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.[10] In Greek mythology female-to-male transformation is treated as a positive outcome and 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 a negative experience and synonymous with punishment.[11]
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