Hermaphroditus: A Hellenistic myth of oriental origin that tells of a being who was half male and half female--the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite (Mercury and Venus), hence his name. As a young man (he began life as a male) he once bathed in a lake where Salmacis, one of Diana's nymphs, dwelt. She fell in love with him at first sight and clung to him with such passion that their two bodies became united in one.