LGBT themes in classical mythology

Greco-Roman mythology features male homosexuality in many of the constituent myths. In addition, there are instances of cross-dressing, and of androgyny which in post-1990s gender terminology has been grouped under the acronym LGBT.

These myths have been described as being crucially influential on Western LGBT literature, with the original myths being constantly re-published and re-written, and the relationships and characters serving as icons. In comparison, lesbianism is rarely found in classical myths.

Dionysus, a god gestated in the thigh of his father Zeus, after his mother died from being overwhelmed by Zeus's true form, has been dubbed "a patron god of hermaphrodites and transvestites" by Roberto C. Ferrari in the 2002 Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Other gods are sometimes considered patrons of homosexual love between males, such as the love goddess Aphrodite and gods in her retinue, such as the Erotes: Eros, Himeros and Pothos. Eros is also part of a trinity of gods that played roles in homoerotic relationships, along with Heracles and Hermes, who bestowed qualities of Beauty (and Loyalty), strength, and eloquence, respectively, onto male lovers. In the poetry of Sappho, Aphrodite is identified as the patron of lesbians.

The sex-change theme also occurred in classical mythology. The reason for the transformation varies, as in the case of Sypretes (Συπρετεσ) or Siproites (Σιπροιτεσ), a hunter from Crete, who was transformed to a woman by Artemis after having seen the goddess bathing.

There was also a motif of a woman needing to disguise herself as a male and later being transformed into a biological male by mysterious forces (mainly the gods). In the cases of Iphis and Leucippus, the woman's mother was pressured (by her husband) to bear a male child so the protagonist was forced to impersonate a male from birth. Later in life, manhood was granted through the blessing of a deity (Juno/Hera in Iphis' case and Leto in Leucippus').

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