Hermaphrodite is a word that refers to those organisms that possess both sexes from the biological point of view. It is also the name of a Greek deity, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. Therefore, the word comes from the Latin hermaphroditus, which in turn comes from the Greek ἑρμάφρόδιτός or hermaphroditós.
In the world of botany, there are species that have this characteristic of double sex by nature, a condition that is called hermaphroditism.
As an example we can mention some such as apple, tomato and chili, among others. Human beings are not exempt from this, although it is not an inherent characteristic, but the result of a disorder in the sexual development of the subject.
The word hermaphrodite is synonymous with the androgynous term .
The myth of Hermaphrodite or Hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite or Hermaphrodite is the name of the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, divine characters of Greek mythology. Being the son of an adulterous relationship, Aphrodite did not raise him personally but instead handed him over to the nymphs of the forest.
When he became a full and attractive young man, Hermafrodito went to bathe in the lake of the Salmacis naiad. This, seduced by its beauty, wanted to possess it and consummate its desire, but Hermafrodito made resistance.
Then, Salmacis begged the gods of Olympus to join their bodies forever, so that they were one. The gods agreed and, since then, Hermafrodito acquired a double sex body and lost his manhood.
Hermaphrodite, therefore, also asked the gods that all those men who bathe in that lake, undergo the same transformation as him, a wish that was granted.
