Androgynos (mythology)
primordial being in comparative mythology
Androgynos (Ancient Greek: ἀνδρόγυνος, romanized: andrógynos; plural ἀνδρόγῠνοι, andrógynoi) is an expression in ancient Greek that is significant in literary mythology. The word is composed of ἀνήρ (anḗr, 'man') and γυνή (gynḗ, 'woman').
Originally the term only described "effeminate" feminized men, such as the Scythian fortune teller in Herodotus's Histories. Plato was the first to use the word for another meaning: in his usage, androgynoi were mythical beings who were androgynous, meaning they had both masculine and feminine sex characteristics.
Plato's myth
The term originated in ancient times through Plato's Symposium, a fictional work which depicts a banquet where several orators gave speeches or presentations about eroticism. It is during a speech by Aristophanes that the myth of the Ball-people was told, and it was in this story with the first known usage of the word Androgynos in the sense of androgyny. Plato created the myth himself, and used old mythical motifs in the story. The core of the story can also be found in mythologies outside of European ones. The legend posits a mythical origin to the phenomenon of erotic desire.
In the story, there were three genders; man, woman, and the union of the two.
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