Salmacis facts for kids
Salmacis (Ancient Greek: Σαλμακίς) was a nymph in Greek mythology. She didn't follow the other nymphs of the goddess Diana and was known for her idle lifestyle.
"There dwelt a Nymph, not up for hunting or archery:
unfit for footraces. She the only Naiad not in Diana’s band.
Ovid, Metamorphoses. Book IV, 306-312.
Often her sisters would say: “Pick up a javelin, or
bristling quiver, and interrupt your leisure for the chase!”
But she would not pick up a javelin or arrows,
nor trade leisure for the chase.
Instead she would bathe her beautiful limbs and tend to her hair,
with her waters as a mirror."
According to Ovid's myth, Salmacis fell in love with Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. When he bathed in her spring, she embraced him and prayed to the gods to be united with him forever. The gods heard her prayer and merged their bodies together, making them a single being, both male and female. Hermaphroditus then cursed the spring of Salmacis, so that any man who drank or bathed in its water would also become androgynous.
Salmacis fountain
Salmacis was the name of a fountain or spring located in modern-day Bodrum, Turkey. According to some classical authors, the water had the reputation of making men effeminate and soft. This legend lies at the heart of Ovid's tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus.
See also
In Spanish: Salmacis para niños
