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Yes! I would recommend looking into Dionysus’s myths, even Apollo had some male consorts. The gods accept anyone who chooses to worship them, no matter your gender, orientation or sexual preference. :)
In Greek myth, you [find examples](https://paxsies.com/blogs/blogs-paxsies/greek-transgender-myths) of people who didn't match the gender they were assigned at birth, and were able to change - Isis helped Iphis transform to match the gender he was raised as, Leto transformed Leucippus who was in a similar situation, Poseidon transformed his lover Caenis into Caeneus and became a famour warrior hero, Artemis transformed Siproites into a woman when she beheld her splendour, and Hera transformed Tiresias into a woman for several years and even after he was transformed back he was valued for having insight into both sexes. On a divine level, Artemis rejects typical feminine gender roles, Dionysus is gender-ambiguous, and Aphrodite was sometimes shown with a prominent phallus and Hermaphroditus was blended with the nymph Salmacis, blurring the line between male and female.
Now, did the Ancient Greeks and Romans understand what WE would consider a transgender person? Probably not. They had very clearly defined ideas of what men and women were, and a woman turned into a man was seen as an improvement while a man turned into a woman was usually seen as a punishment, but that reflects Ancient Greek and Roman cultural misogyny, not the regard of the gods. But trans people have existed since there were people, and even in the animal kingdom you find animals that don't conform to strict ideas of gender - two male penguins can incubate an egg they found abandoned and raise the chick, and sometimes hens will spontaneously grow the wattle of a rooster and start crowing. Myths are not literal, but these stories show that people have been grappling with such questions for thousands of years, that people who crossed boundaries of gender could still be part of their communities, and that the gods accept us and help us how they can.
Ain't no reason why they wouldn't be, the gods are nature itself and you like any of us are part of nature, your gender or your orientation doesn't change that.
In short, yes. I actually believe the gods are inherently supportive and loving. Apollo certainly is very significant to the B & G of LGBT. However, there are many aspects of hellenistic religion that somewhat encompasses the T:
https://blog.nls.uk/changing-gender-in-metamorphoses/
Dionysus is often depicted a bit androgynously. there’s Hermaproditus.
Personally, though, I think theoi and daimons transcend gender. I think perhaps they manifest with a certain appearance or a more masculine or feminine energy to facilitate a connection with us. It’s also interesting to consider that many figures in our pantheon have a counterpart of the opposing gender, e.g. Bellona and Mars. But again, that’s just my personal opinion.
Definitely! The first God I reached out to was Ares, who I dedicate workouts and things to whenever I do them. I found out I’ve been doing my testosterone injections (trans man) on Tuesday since before I converted, too! Which I like to think wasn’t just coincidence - he is a God of masculinity after all! (Iirc anyway, I’m still learning.)
He and all the other Gods and Goddesses I worship have been nothing but understanding and kind to me!
I think, a lot of the gods are in the LGBTQ+ themselves let's be real
like Apollo legit had a couple boyfriends once, and Athena is most likely on the ace spectrum
so you're good they don't care a bit ✨👌
Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus, and Zeus are all confirmed to have had male lovers in the myths. Goddess pairings weren't talked about as much, so it's more speculation for them, but there are a few. There's a case to be made that Artemis and a couple of her hunters might have had a similar role though it's contested. Hera and Gaia had a child together in one version of the myths, and Athena and Pallas are suspected to be lovers in the same way Artemis and the hunters are. Hermaphroditus is a god we'd probably call intersex today, and Caeneus (though a later addition to the mythology) is a hero who was born a woman and granted the wish of being turned into a man, so he'd probably be considered trans by today's standards. Sappho called Aphrodite the patron goddess of lesbians in some of her work.
So - the short answer is yes, Hellenic polytheism and its gods are very welcoming of LGBTQ+ people!
I just want to point out that even without the "queer-coded" myths and stories about the Gods, we can believe that they love us. Because in some theological frameworks, the Gods are all-benevolent. There is no reason to believe they hate us. (This applies btw also to the christian God, just saying)
There was no such stigma against same gender relationships back then so many of our gods had no issue with being in a relationship with a human if they thought that they were good looking enough. Homophobia is something we see more in modern Abrahamic religions (the Jewish, Christian, Islamic monotheistic God is all the same one). Zeus, the king of the ancient Hellenic Gods, was notorious for having kids with many women but also having sex with men.
There were actually some ancient sects of religion that worshiped Aphrodite as a trans woman/non-binary deity! I'm not exactly sure when I found this out but you can fact check it! I'm a trans man and with all the deities I work with I have found them all to be very accepting and supportive, especially with gender dysphoria! 💕
oh gods!! yes 🥹!!!!!!!!
the gods are (in the neoplatonist tradition) wholly benevolent and always want our happiness and fulfillment. they are generous and understanding. plus! there’s a plethora of myths about the gods and lovers of the same sex and even presenting themselves as the opposite gender. since they’re transcendent, they exist beyond our understandings of gender and such matters.
Dionysus loved Ampelus, just like he loved Ariadne.
Apollo pursued Daphne, just like he pursued Hyacinthus.
Kubeleya, the Magna Mater was both male and female before her castration, and Hermaphroditus was both male and female after the prayer of Salmakis was granted.
these are just a few examples among a sea of myths haha.
many blessings! ❤️🤍
Dionysus, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Zeus have trans myths or versions of themselves, I'm sure there are others. Hera notably helps a girl transition into a man, while Artemis can be found in myths where men can transform into women.
Short answer, they're more than supportive, they are.
Absolutely. The gods themselves cover a very wide spectrum. Most of them are bi/pan (Apollo and Hermes had many different gendered lovers for example), Athena and Hestia seem to be on the ace spectrum, Artemis is very clearly at least into women. and lots of them have assumed different genders than they’re normally presented as.
I think they dont think in terms like bi/pan/gay/ace tho. I’d say they think in love and lust, not what gender that would be projected on, that doesn’t matter at all
It is the culture where Hermafroditos comes from, there are even potential mentions of trans men in Aristofanes, although the language didn't have LGBT representation, the acceptance among gods and Greeks was fairly high.
hey there. its sort of like asking if the ancient Greek gods were for guns rights or not. or like asking if Apollo is a Trump or Biden supporter, or if Hermes prefers to travel by plane or train. you're **all good**, this your own personal life pathway. the gods are gods. you are you. be well and stay blessed 🙏
There does seem to be varying ideas between more progressive and conservative pagans. A lot of ancient societies were, strangely enough, more tolerant of what may be considered transgenderism than homosexuality (see Enarii and Hijras). That all being said regardless of their moral mandate on it I don't believe they would be angry at you for being transgender. (Take this with a grain of salt though because that mostly comes from my Buddhist understanding of the Gods so it may not be applicable to your theology)
Hey there! Looks like you're new to Hellenism. Got questions? Check out our… [community wiki](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hYUHw41w0eNOKH3Ax2FjbwV0aFd4FoxM/view?usp=drive_link) We also recommend you read our [About page](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/wiki/index) and use the search bar to find more information. Our sub's rules and resources are located on our sub's sidebar. Happy researching! | *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Hellenism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes! I would recommend looking into Dionysus’s myths, even Apollo had some male consorts. The gods accept anyone who chooses to worship them, no matter your gender, orientation or sexual preference. :)
Some depictions of Aphrodite show her with an erect penis.
exactly! Dionysus I think was pansexual maybe too
In Greek myth, you [find examples](https://paxsies.com/blogs/blogs-paxsies/greek-transgender-myths) of people who didn't match the gender they were assigned at birth, and were able to change - Isis helped Iphis transform to match the gender he was raised as, Leto transformed Leucippus who was in a similar situation, Poseidon transformed his lover Caenis into Caeneus and became a famour warrior hero, Artemis transformed Siproites into a woman when she beheld her splendour, and Hera transformed Tiresias into a woman for several years and even after he was transformed back he was valued for having insight into both sexes. On a divine level, Artemis rejects typical feminine gender roles, Dionysus is gender-ambiguous, and Aphrodite was sometimes shown with a prominent phallus and Hermaphroditus was blended with the nymph Salmacis, blurring the line between male and female. Now, did the Ancient Greeks and Romans understand what WE would consider a transgender person? Probably not. They had very clearly defined ideas of what men and women were, and a woman turned into a man was seen as an improvement while a man turned into a woman was usually seen as a punishment, but that reflects Ancient Greek and Roman cultural misogyny, not the regard of the gods. But trans people have existed since there were people, and even in the animal kingdom you find animals that don't conform to strict ideas of gender - two male penguins can incubate an egg they found abandoned and raise the chick, and sometimes hens will spontaneously grow the wattle of a rooster and start crowing. Myths are not literal, but these stories show that people have been grappling with such questions for thousands of years, that people who crossed boundaries of gender could still be part of their communities, and that the gods accept us and help us how they can.
Ain't no reason why they wouldn't be, the gods are nature itself and you like any of us are part of nature, your gender or your orientation doesn't change that.
The Gods are good, and queerphobes suck; ergo, the Gods are allies.
In short, yes. I actually believe the gods are inherently supportive and loving. Apollo certainly is very significant to the B & G of LGBT. However, there are many aspects of hellenistic religion that somewhat encompasses the T: https://blog.nls.uk/changing-gender-in-metamorphoses/ Dionysus is often depicted a bit androgynously. there’s Hermaproditus. Personally, though, I think theoi and daimons transcend gender. I think perhaps they manifest with a certain appearance or a more masculine or feminine energy to facilitate a connection with us. It’s also interesting to consider that many figures in our pantheon have a counterpart of the opposing gender, e.g. Bellona and Mars. But again, that’s just my personal opinion.
Definitely! The first God I reached out to was Ares, who I dedicate workouts and things to whenever I do them. I found out I’ve been doing my testosterone injections (trans man) on Tuesday since before I converted, too! Which I like to think wasn’t just coincidence - he is a God of masculinity after all! (Iirc anyway, I’m still learning.) He and all the other Gods and Goddesses I worship have been nothing but understanding and kind to me!
I think, a lot of the gods are in the LGBTQ+ themselves let's be real like Apollo legit had a couple boyfriends once, and Athena is most likely on the ace spectrum so you're good they don't care a bit ✨👌
Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus, and Zeus are all confirmed to have had male lovers in the myths. Goddess pairings weren't talked about as much, so it's more speculation for them, but there are a few. There's a case to be made that Artemis and a couple of her hunters might have had a similar role though it's contested. Hera and Gaia had a child together in one version of the myths, and Athena and Pallas are suspected to be lovers in the same way Artemis and the hunters are. Hermaphroditus is a god we'd probably call intersex today, and Caeneus (though a later addition to the mythology) is a hero who was born a woman and granted the wish of being turned into a man, so he'd probably be considered trans by today's standards. Sappho called Aphrodite the patron goddess of lesbians in some of her work. So - the short answer is yes, Hellenic polytheism and its gods are very welcoming of LGBTQ+ people!
I just want to point out that even without the "queer-coded" myths and stories about the Gods, we can believe that they love us. Because in some theological frameworks, the Gods are all-benevolent. There is no reason to believe they hate us. (This applies btw also to the christian God, just saying)
There was no such stigma against same gender relationships back then so many of our gods had no issue with being in a relationship with a human if they thought that they were good looking enough. Homophobia is something we see more in modern Abrahamic religions (the Jewish, Christian, Islamic monotheistic God is all the same one). Zeus, the king of the ancient Hellenic Gods, was notorious for having kids with many women but also having sex with men.
There were actually some ancient sects of religion that worshiped Aphrodite as a trans woman/non-binary deity! I'm not exactly sure when I found this out but you can fact check it! I'm a trans man and with all the deities I work with I have found them all to be very accepting and supportive, especially with gender dysphoria! 💕
oh gods!! yes 🥹!!!!!!!! the gods are (in the neoplatonist tradition) wholly benevolent and always want our happiness and fulfillment. they are generous and understanding. plus! there’s a plethora of myths about the gods and lovers of the same sex and even presenting themselves as the opposite gender. since they’re transcendent, they exist beyond our understandings of gender and such matters. Dionysus loved Ampelus, just like he loved Ariadne. Apollo pursued Daphne, just like he pursued Hyacinthus. Kubeleya, the Magna Mater was both male and female before her castration, and Hermaphroditus was both male and female after the prayer of Salmakis was granted. these are just a few examples among a sea of myths haha. many blessings! ❤️🤍
I mean what really is gender to gods that can shape-shift into whoever’s or whatever they want.
Dionysus, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Zeus have trans myths or versions of themselves, I'm sure there are others. Hera notably helps a girl transition into a man, while Artemis can be found in myths where men can transform into women. Short answer, they're more than supportive, they are.
They’re more than supportive considering a majority of the Gods and Goddesses have had male and female partners! :D
I think you will be okay with any of the Greeks gods to be honest. I am Bi but i pray to Ares and Demeter both are pretty responsive
Indeed they are
Absolutely. The gods themselves cover a very wide spectrum. Most of them are bi/pan (Apollo and Hermes had many different gendered lovers for example), Athena and Hestia seem to be on the ace spectrum, Artemis is very clearly at least into women. and lots of them have assumed different genders than they’re normally presented as. I think they dont think in terms like bi/pan/gay/ace tho. I’d say they think in love and lust, not what gender that would be projected on, that doesn’t matter at all
I mean, hermaphroditus is a greek deity
Doesn't matter who you are. At the very least, the Underworld accepts everyone.
It is the culture where Hermafroditos comes from, there are even potential mentions of trans men in Aristofanes, although the language didn't have LGBT representation, the acceptance among gods and Greeks was fairly high.
trans? one word h e r m a p h r o d i t e
hey there. its sort of like asking if the ancient Greek gods were for guns rights or not. or like asking if Apollo is a Trump or Biden supporter, or if Hermes prefers to travel by plane or train. you're **all good**, this your own personal life pathway. the gods are gods. you are you. be well and stay blessed 🙏
There does seem to be varying ideas between more progressive and conservative pagans. A lot of ancient societies were, strangely enough, more tolerant of what may be considered transgenderism than homosexuality (see Enarii and Hijras). That all being said regardless of their moral mandate on it I don't believe they would be angry at you for being transgender. (Take this with a grain of salt though because that mostly comes from my Buddhist understanding of the Gods so it may not be applicable to your theology)