Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Louvre, Paris

[travel_by_day]

Was touring the Louvre the other day, and came across this statue, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, of Sleeping Hermaphroditus.

Hermaphroditus was the son of Aphrodite and Hermes, who was a feminine, pretty boy who was made more feminine after a liaison with a water nymph.

The statue, approached from the rear, looks like a reclining nude woman lying on her front, but turned slightly away from you. When you go around the front, the figure is turned slightly up, revealing the shape of a breast as well as a penis. The penis, unlike other statues, appears to be at least partially erect.





The figure appears to be sleeping, but perhaps is not - the foot is raised slightly, and she is turned in a way that perhaps suggests a playful flirtation.

The statue was surprisingly busy - a group of Chinese tourists were taking many photos when I was there.

It was interesting to see, thought I would share.

[MacShreach]

Only the mattress is by Bernini; the figure is a Roman copy of a Greek original.

[jogrant]

Genesis wrote a song about it

[francisfkudrow]

I looked up Hermaphroditus on wikipedia...

Mythology[edit source | editbeta]

Further information: Salmacis and Salmacis (fountain)
Ovid's account relates that Hermaphroditus was nursed by naiads in the caves of Mount Ida,[5] a sacred mountain in Phrygia (present day Turkey). At the age of fifteen, he grew bored with his surroundings and traveled to the cities of Lycia and Caria. It was in the woods of Caria, near Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) that he encountered the nymph, Salmacis, in her pool. She was overcome by lust for the boy, who was very handsome but still young, and tried to seduce him, but was rejected. When he thought her to be gone, Hermaphroditus undressed and entered the waters of the empty pool. Salmacis sprang out from behind a tree and jumped into the pool. She wrapped herself around the boy, forcibly kissing him and touching his breast. While he struggled, she called out to the gods that they should never part. Her wish was granted, and their bodies blended into one form, "a creature of both sexes".[6] Hermaphroditus prayed to Hermes and Aphrodite that anyone else who bathed in the pool would be similarly transformed, and his wish was granted.

Perhaps some explorers from HA should try to find the location of this "pool"