While modern categories like "trans woman" did not exist in antiquity, ancient Greek mythology and religion feature figures and groups who lived, dressed, and identified as women despite being assigned male at birth.Mythological FiguresTiresias: The famous blind prophet of Thebes was transformed into a woman for seven years after striking two mating snakes, living fully as a woman and experiencing that gender role before turning back into a man.Siproites: In a myth recorded by Antoninus Liberalis, a young boy named Siproites accidentally saw the goddess Artemis bathing. As punishment or transformation, Artemis turned him into a woman (Siproite), shifting his sex and social standing.Religious GroupsThe Galli (or Gallae): These were the priests of the Phrygian goddess Cybele (whom the Greeks syncretized with Rhea). Worshipped across the Greek and Roman worlds, the galli ritually wore women's clothing, used feminine jewelry, spoke in higher vocal registers, and identified as women, leading modern scholars to view them as historical early transgender figures
