Venus Castina

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Venus Castina was a minor epithet of the Roman goddess Venus; in this form, she was associated with "the yearnings of feminine souls locked up in male bodies".[1][2] Depictions of worshipers of Venus Castina display both men and women as devotees; some portraits include male worshipers dressed in female attire.

Herodotus wrote that Venus Castina cursed a group of Scythians who pillaged Venus' temple at Ascelon by turning them into women:

"The Scythians who plundered the temple were punished by the goddess with the female sickness, which still attaches to their posterity. They themselves confess that they are afflicted with the disease for this reason, and travelers who visit Scythia can see what sort of a disease it is. Those who suffer from it are called Enarees." — The Histories, book I, chapter 105. Herodotus.

Herodotus also mentions that the temple at Ascelon was the oldest of all the temples to the goddess and that the temples to her at Cyprus and Cythera were founded from it by the Phoenicians of Syria.[3]

Hippocrates, describing among the Scythians "No-men" who resembled eunuchs, wrote, "they not only follow women's occupations, but show feminine inclinations and behave as women. The natives ascribe the cause to a deity..." (cited by Hammond, 1887).[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bulliet, Clarence Joseph (1956). Venus Castina: Famous Female Impersonators, Celestial and Human. Bonanza Books. 
  2. ↑ Roberta Perkins (1994). "Geldings for the Gods". Polare. Retrieved 2008-08-10. 
  3. ↑ Herodotus. A. D. Godley, ed. "The Histories I, 105 § 3". Perseus Project. Retrieved 2013-09-02. 
  4. ↑ Denny, Dallas (2013). Current Concepts in Transgender Identity. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 1134821107. 

External links

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