The wise seer is a common mythic motif; from Merlin in the Arthurian tales, to Narada in the Vishnu Puranas, the idea of a wandering, mysterious being who acts as an occasional interlocutor between the realm of mortals and the domains of the Gods is common archetype. One such character in the Hellenistic tradition is Tiresias, the Blind Prophet.

There are many myths as to how he was blinded, in part because his legend, like many Greek myths, was also embellished by the Romans. However, here’s the version we’re sticking with, which goes something like this:

Tiresias was walking through the woods when he stumbled upon a pair of snakes making sweet, slithery love. Whether by instinct or with forethought, Tiresias struck at the pair with his walking staff, killing them instantly.

For this sin against love, he was transformed – some say by Hera, the Queen of Heaven – into a woman.

Tiresias lived as a woman for seven years, even giving birth to a daughter, Manto, whose renown as an oracle excelled that of her mother’s. Later authors would add several paramours to this period of Tiresias’ life.

Regardless of how many lovers Tiresias took during her gender-swapped period, one thing is certain: Tiresias understood the pleasures of being a woman.

After seven years, the Lady Tiresias found herself walking in the woods, when she chanced upon a pair of copulating snakes. Now, one author, Hyginus, would have us believe that she struck them again, but I’m going with Apollodorus; she let them be, and was granted a return to her former state.

Tiresias was once again a man.

A man who knew something no other man could:

What it feels like to be a woman.

*

Zeus and Hera are a power couple – Zeus loves Hera, in his fashion. Hera tolerates his infidelities in her own fashion, meting out cruel judgment on the mortals that Zeus seduces, while retaining her position by the side of the King of Olympus.

And Hera knows she can use her sexual charms on Zeus when she chooses to – as she does to distract him during the Trojan War, allowing the war to proceed.

So they both understand sex for pleasure, and sex as a weapon.

But which gender (and forgive the binary gendering here – it’s how the Greeks culturally typed their bodies) actually enjoys it more?

For very political reasons, Hera wants the answer to be Men. It would explain a great deal about their behavior…

Who better to ask than Tiresias?

*

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…

*

“A man enjoyed one tenth the pleasure and a woman nine tenths.” – Tiresias, the seer.

“Say what?!?” – Hera.

[Flash of Divine Rage]

“oops.” – Tiresias, the blind seer.

*

Yes, there are many things to avoid doing in the Greek mythoscape.

Offending the Gods is pretty much at the top of that list, which is tricky, given that the Gods are often quarreling amongst themselves. What is joyful to Hera maybe be baneful to Zeus; in its meta narrative, the Trojan War is a about the ego battles between Power, Wisdom and Erotic Beauty (personified as Hera, Athena and Aphrodite). On an even more meta level, it’s a story about the War between Chaos and Order, with Chaos using Vanity to destroy Order from within (Eris, the Olympians, and the Apple of Discord).

Whose side do you pick?

Tiresias spoke their truth. Hera in turn blinded them.

And Zeus, in turn, gave him another kind of sight: clairvoyance, the ability to see into the future. He also blessed him with seven lifespans, which is narratively useful, since it lets Tiresias provide council from the time of Cadmus and the founding of Thebes, to the time of his great-great grandson Oedipus, and even into the following generation and their tales of tragedy.

*

The take-away?

a) don’t attack copulating animals

b) don’t piss of Hera

c) Ladies, enjoy yourselves! At least, according to Tiresias, if you *have* to pick a gender, two X chromosomes are more fun than one