Iphis

In Greek and Roman mythology, Iphis or Iphys ( , ; , gen. Ἴφιδος Ī́phidos) was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete, born female and raised as male, who was later transformed by the goddess Isis into a man. Mythology According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, in the city of Phaestus, there lived an honorable man named Ligdus and his pregnant wife, Telethusa. As Telethusa's due date drew near, Ligdus informed her of his desire for a son, since the couple could not afford a dowry for a daughter. He also warned her, that if the child was female, she would have to be put to death. Telethusa tried in vain to change her husband's mind, but Ligdus, despite his own despair, held firm. However, Telethusa was soon visited in the middle of the night by the Egyptian goddess Isis, along with a train of other gods: Anubis, Bastet, Apis, Harpocrates, Osiris, and the Egyptian serpent. Isis advised her despondent follower to disobey her husband's orders and keep the child, regardless of its sex. Isis also promised to aid Telethusa and her child in any future troubles. When Telethusa gave birth to a girl, she concealed the infant's sex from her husband and conspired with her nursemaid to raise her child as a son. The child was named Iphis, a name Telethusa secretly rejoiced in, as it was gender neutral.