Ovid is a Roman poet most well-known for his collection of legendary and mythological stories known as Metamorphoses. His works made him one of the most renowned Roman writers for generations. His stories were originally in Latin and he started writing it during 2 BCE, roughly 2,023 years ago. Within Metamorphoses, various tales and myths change the setting and characters every few pages. One of these is the story of Iphis, which involves them being born female but raised male and, at the end of the story, being transformed into a biological male by the goddess Isis. This story has caused several debates between classical scholars and modern readers who enjoy mythological stories alike. Some view Iphis as transgender, as a cisgender woman who was transformed through divine intervention, or simply a character in a myth that shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
With all these debates in mind, I will use they/them pronouns for Iphis in this writing for the sake of my argument. I am primarily concerned with how gender is structured in the story, not if Iphis should be viewed as a transgender figure. The relationships between a writer and their characters are all connected to gender structures. How Ovid portrays Iphis in the story is affected by the gender virtues from the time. These virtues are connected to how the story presents gender as a performance. First, we need to unpack precisely what expectations were held by ancient Romans.
Within ancient Roman society, a set of gendered expectations existed. Men could have multiple careers, often ones relating to the military or politics. The female virtues were far stricter. Women were expected to spin cloth, produce children, and present themselves modestly. In theory, anyone, especially a woman, would be looked down upon for straying from their assigned virtues. However, how does this fit into circumstances when gender is entirely transformed? In the case of Iphis’s gender transformation, it was accepted, and there are multiple layers as to why this is.
Gender transformations from woman to man were more widely discussed, likely since, in every facet, women were inferior. Such a transformation would be better for society, while the alternative would be shameful. This detail is why Iphis’s female birth sex is hidden. Their father directly says a girl will be a heavier burden; in his eyes, girls are misfortunes, and this mindset was reinforced by society. This sets up the story’s reason for the initial concealment of Iphis’s birth sex. It’s rooted in what we label today as sexist ideas; ones Ovid himself reinforces throughout the story. We know that Ovid’s writings were presented orally, but there’s still some mystery about who the intended original audience was. However, the listeners would be familiar with Roman gender norms.
This fact becomes even more interesting because Ovid intentionally chose a gender-neutral name which is rare in Latin as names in the language are heavily gendered. Ovid also selected the final transformation to include divine intervention from the goddess Isis. We cannot be certain of Ovid’s intentions with these choices; nonetheless, his decisions were affected by the gendered ideas of the time. This creates a time and cultural limitation because we only have what the story gives us, which means some key aspects are lost. When the modern reader is exposed to all of it, they will likely default to their current cultural view. In my opinion, this isn’t an inherently bad practice. After all, it’s impossible to view something completely objectively as we are all affected by cultural influences, including concepts.
Both gender and biology are affected by culture. The two concepts are essential to our perceptions as modern readers and how we project these onto old ideas. From the very beginning of the story, Iphis’s gender is set up to be tied to their appearance, “The child was dressed as a boy, and its features would have been beautiful whether they were given to a girl or a boy” (Ovid Metamorphosis.) In the story, it’s as easy as Iphis dressing up as a boy to be perceived as one by society and, more importantly, by their father. This neutrality in appearance goes with the neutral name and allows for Iphis to be perceived more as gender fluid by a modern standard. It is crucial to note the transformation that occurs later in the story and which of Iphis’s features change. All of these are choices Ovid, as the writer, made for a reason. Classicist Jonathan Walker explains these details,
“Her appearance in fact must carry the potential to go either way to certify for the reader the discontinuity between her “natural” sex and her masculine gender. In Iphis’s physiology, the natural signs of gender fluctuate, becoming just as problematic as the cultural signs of dress and name that determine both her sex and her patrimony”
(Walker 2006, 215)
The story presents a divide right off the bat between biological sex and gender appearance. They are not two in the same. As stated, before birth, sex aligned with the gendered virtues, but in Iphis’s life, this is not the case.
Initially, the reason for Iphis performing as a boy is to keep them safe from being killed due to the father’s request. Soon, this motive changes when the father betrothed Iphis to Ianthe, a biological female who is presented as a woman. The initial conflict in the story is resolved by concealment through gender performance. Ovid makes the second major conflict one that cannot be fixed similarly. The former motive for performing cannot work due to lesbian relationships not being accepted in society. Walker states,
“Most of these texts treat sex between women as a poor imitation of male-centered eroticisms, the effect of which is to render invisible any vestige of lesbianism that may have been conceptually or practicably independent of the masculine model”
Walker, 2006, Pg 205
Like gender expectations in society, sexual acts were meant to be performed within the penetrative model, not outside of it. If there’s no penetrative object, such as the penis, there would be confusion about who the active and passive are. Female homoeroticism could not be assimilated into the penetrative model and ancient Roman societal expectations. When this conflict is realized in the story, a pronoun switch occurs from he to she, as seen in this quote, “Iphis loved one whom she despaired of being able to have, and this itself increased her passion, a girl on fire for a girl” (Ovid Metamorphosis.) For Iphis and Ianthe’s romantic relationship to exist, it had to be presented in an inconceivable way or, at the very least, not readily available to the public, like divine intervention.
Female homoerotism is deemed unnatural, an opinion Ovid projects onto Iphis. “Mares do not burn with love for mares, or heifers for heifers: the ram inflames the ewe: its hind follows the stag. So, birds mate, and among all animals, not one female is attacked by lust for a female. I wish I were not one!” (Ovid Metamorphosis.) This narrative of homosexuality being unnatural because it does not mirror nature likely sounds familiar. Throughout my learning journey in my classics class, I have realized in many ways, we have progressed from ancient times, yet very ingrained ideas from antiquity are present in everyday life. Our world today continues to create a stigma towards LGBT+ relationships due to this mindset. Iphis rejects themselves in their current form because of this stigma. Therefore, the primary motive Iphis themselves have for transforming is that being in a homoerotic relationship is inconceivable and unnatural. Iphis further details their thoughts, “But Nature does not want it, the only one who harms me, more powerful than them all” (Ovid Metamorphosis.) This statement solidifies Iphis’s motive and ultimate agreement to be transformed into a male. It’s all tied to heteronormativity which means that heterosexuality is normal and is the favored sexual orientation. Society’s way of thinking has changed, but also, in many ways, heterosexuality is seen as the default.
In years past, gender identity has been extensively questioned, sometimes out of fear or genuine curiosity. This search for explanations continues into modern times, predominantly as LGBT+ matters are being expressed openly, arguably more than ever. People assume that as time goes on, we continuously progress, never going backward. It’s hard not to have this mindset since time travel is currently impossible, so we cannot directly observe or know all the ins and outs of the past. However, it is important to remember that everything in the past can teach us things about our world now. How far we have come in some facets and how much progress has not been made in others.
Iphis’s journey as a character in the story is both a lesson about antiquity and one for modern readers regarding present-day conflicts. We are now far more familiar with the fact that gender is a performance enforced by social standards. Knowing this fact and connecting to an ancient work provides room to form a sense of connection and understanding for our society today. Furthermore, taking note of how they are similar and different can help us see what during the present we need to focus on to be agents of positive change in the world. We all have a part to play.
If you would like to read an account from a transgender person regarding the perspective of Iphis’s being transgender, I suggest Sarah Barish’s article Iphis’ Hair, Io’s Reflection, and the Gender Dysphoria of the Metamorphoses
