June 18: Pride Month

The seer Teiresias (Tiresias) lived for seven generations, and seven years of those, he spent in female form. No Greek man would voluntarily undergo such a transformation, so what happened? It was Hera who had cursed him, for no other reason than that he had witnessed two snakes “at it”, and had hit them with his stick. (Some myths state that the snakes were put on the caduceus, Hermes’ staff.) After Hera had turned him into a woman, for seven years, she experienced all that a woman endures, including the pain of giving birth. No wonder he was only too relieved to finally regain his masculinity. Yet, one aspect of being a woman he had really enjoyed… Therefore, when supreme gods Zeus and Hera had a dispute over who experiences more delight at the physical side of love, he recalled his female years. “Of ten parts a man enjoys only one, but a woman enjoys the full ten parts in her heart.” A chuckling Zeus congratulated him, but a displeased Hera took away his eyesight. And the last word on the matter is still not spoken.

Maenad and Satyr, Mosaico delle Stagioni, Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo, Italy

Tiresias striking the snakes, Johann Ulrich Kraus, Die Verwandlungen des Ovidii

Did you know?

• Teiresias’ staff would be made of cornel wood (or dogwood), renowned for its toughness.