Teiresias, the she-he?

I find the stories about Teiresias interesting and entertaining, particularly regarding how he lost his sight. And it seems to me that he’s so popular that a number of playwrights or poets just have to add him in their plays; be it as a useful advisor or the neglected prophet. Unlike Oedipus who blinded himself, Teiresias was blinded because of his own bad luck and mischievous actions.

One account on how he got blinded is because he saw Athena, the goddess bathed naked in a pool. This is based on the poet Pherecydes in Callimachus’ poem “The Bathing of Pallas”. Athena blinded Teiresias by covering his eyes with her hands. Teiresias’ mother, Chariclo, is a nymph of Athena. She pleaded to the goddesss to restore his sight. Unfortunately, what has been done cannot be reversed. So, Athena cleaned his ears so that he can hear and understand the sounds of the birds. This enabled him to foretell the future. Teiresias’ power to utter oracles can still be used in the afterworld.

Another version of Teiresias’ blindness is taken from the lost lines of Hesoid. Near Mount Kyllene in the Peloponnese, he stumbled upon two snakes mating. He separated them for no reason at all by hitting the female snake. His action angered Hera, the sensuous seductress of Zeus because she approved of sex, for any creatures. Teiresias was punished by being transformed into a woman, body and soul. As a female, Teiresias became the priestess of Hera, married and gave birth to children. It was said that Teiresias was a well-known prostitute. Seven years later, he again saw two mating snakes. He decided to kill the male snake and transformed back into a man.

One day, Zeus and Hera had an argument about who receive more pleasure during intercourse. Zeus claimed that women enjoy sex than men. Hera argued the opposite. They decided to ask Teiresias to judge as he had experienced sex as both man and woman. Teiresias revealed that man gives more pleasure than he receives. For this, Hera struck him blind. Zeus was not able to stop her so to make up for this deed; he rewarded Teiresias the ability to prophesy the future. Zeus also granted him the gift to live an extraordinarily long life for seven generations.

These stories give me an insight look into the lives of the Greeks. I have always been fascinated with how they lead their lives and now I understand more about them. What I learnt from these accounts is that one should be hold responsible for one’s actions. If we dare to do some things, we should also have the courage to accept the implications, whatever they may be. Teiresias accepted his punishments after hitting the snake. Because the world of Ancient Greek is the time where almost anything is possible, Teiresias succeeded in returning back to his own male self. I strongly believe that like Teiresias, we should be responsible for our own deeds or mistakes.