Iphis

Iphis (Ἶφις) was a name attributed to eight individuals in Greek mythology.

Female bearers

The feminine name Iphis (Ἶφις, gen. Ἵφιδος) refers to the following personages.

Daughter of Ligdus

According to the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses, Iphis (or Iphys) was the daughter of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete. Ligdus and Telethusa were a poor couple who could not afford a dowry if their unborn child was born a girl. Ligdus was forced to come to the conclusion that they had to kill his wife's child if it wasn't a boy. Telethusa despaired, but was visited in the middle of the night by the Egyptian goddess Isis, attended by Anubis, Bubastis and Apis, who advised her to accept whatever was going to happen after the child's birth, guaranteeing assistance to the woman. When Telethusa gave birth to a girl, she concealed her daughter's sex from her husband and raised her daughter as a boy. Ligdus named the daughter, who he believed was a son, Iphis after his own father (the child's grandfather), and Telethusa was glad to have her named that as the gender-neutral name would fit in any case. As Iphis reached the age of adolescence, Ligdus, still unaware of the truth, arranged for his "son" to marry the beautiful Ianthe, daughter of Telestes. Naturally, Ianthe didn't know the truth either and so she fell in love with Iphis, taking her for a man like everyone else did. Iphis too fell deeply in love with Ianthe, and prayed to Juno to help her out of the tricky situation of the upcoming marriage with Ianthe being desired but impossible because of Iphis' true sex. One day before the wedding, the deeply concerned Telethusa brought Iphis to the temple of Isis and prayed to the goddess to help her daughter. Isis responded by transforming Iphis into a man. The male Iphis married Ianthe and the two lived happily ever after, their marriage being presided over by Juno, Venus, and Hymenaios, the god of marriage.

Iphis (disambiguation)

Iphis may refer to:

Mythical/fictional character names

Literary works

In biology