Hermaphrodite . The word “Hermaphrodite” comes from the union of the two representative Greek Gods of the masculine and the feminine … that is, Hermes and Aphrodite . That is why the one who has two sexes is called a hermaphrodite because he has something of a man and a woman.
Summary
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- 1 Story
- 2 Hermaphroditism in humans
- 3 Scope of hermaphroditism
- 4 Cross fertilization
- 5 Source
History
This etymology is explained by a myth, narrated among others by the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphosis . Aphrodite was lover of Ares (or Mars), god of war, although she was married to Hephaestus(called Vulcan by the Romans), god of fire and forge, ugly and lame. Hephaestus, knowing of his wife’s infidelity, set a trap for lovers: a subtle and invisible web forged by him, trapped them in his bed, and summoned all the gods to see them trapped. They all noted the shame of those two trapped, but the god Hermes, seeing the beauty of Aphrodite naked, exclaimed that he would go through such shame for supplying Mars and being lucky to be there, hugging the goddess. That is why, say the mythographers, who having heard his words Aphrodite, rewarded Hermes with a love affair. From her a beautiful boy was born, and they called him Hermaphrodite, since he was the son of both.
Hermaphrodite grew up and at 16 he decided to go out and explore the world. He was an extraordinarily beautiful young man. He arrived at a beautiful natural place, where a source fed a small lagoon, and due to the heat he wanted to bathe. The nymph or naiad of the fountain, named Salmacis, fell in love with him as soon as she saw him and offered herself to him. But Hermaphroditus violently rejected her and plunged into the waters. Then Salmacis , since those were his waters, caught him and held him tightly, not wanting to release him, although he resisted. Psalmacis pleaded with the gods to grant her the wish never to be separated, and they melted their bodies. In this way Hermaphrodite, who had entered the waters as a man, came out of them Hermaphrodite, that is, as a mixed being.
Hermaphroditism in humans
Be careful not to confuse hermaphroditism and androgyny, since hermaphrodite and androgynous are not synonymous words, neither in artistic or plastic iconography, nor in the mythical meaning, nor used as scientific terms. From a scientific point of view, the hermaphrodite is a living being with a normal and functional presence of both sexes in the same individual. It occurs naturally in some beings, few of which self-fertilize (some marine coelenterates), since cross fertilization is normal, as in certain hermaphrodite molluscs: the most common are snails: each one has a fertilizing appendix that it acts as a male in the other, and then each snail lays hatched eggs in its female organ.
Authentic hermaphroditism is unfeasible in the human species: the rare cases naturally produced affect, or only the external appearance, in which an individual due to functional anomalies can apparently develop a Penis and a Vagina.at the same time, but their gonads are either male or female, or they can indeed develop two types of gonads (ovaries and testicles), but they cannot be effective at the same time for reproduction. In the first case, from a genetic or chromosomal point of view, it would be a man, or it would be a woman, and its reproductive cells would be either sperm or eggs. In the case of a genetic male of the human species (with an XY karyotype on the chromosomes) but a certain mixed aspect in external organs, it is when speaking of “androgyny”. In the second case, of a genetically mixed being that develops both types of gonads and their reproductive cells (also rare genetic case) even though they can produce both, functionally the reproductive role of female and male is not compatible at the same time, therefore So much hermaphroditism,
In art, the icon or type called hermaphrodite is represented as a human being with a manly adolescent face, with soft feminine curves that give a feminine appearance to his body, with feminine breasts but with Penis and Testicles .
Scope of hermaphroditism
As a reproductive strategy, hermaphroditism is widely represented among the plants with flowers ( angiosperms ), whereas true hermaphroditism in animals as a means of reproduction is related to reproductive strategies of some invertebrate animals, such as snails and earthworms . There is no hermaphrodite mammal .
Some fish can change sex starting their lives as females and, after procreating several times, they transform into males, a process called sequential hermaphroditism .
Cross fertilization
Although hermaphrodite living Beings produce both types of gametes, they rarely fertilize themselves. With the exception of some cases, such as tapeworms , which can self-fertilize (in any case, this fertilization never occurs in the same reproductive system , two Proglottids would unite for fertilization), the remaining hermaphrodites need the collaboration of another congener to reproduce. The same thing happens in Plants , because although many Flowers have both sexes, gametes mature at different times, so cross- pollination is required to carry out Fertilization .
