Salmacis

Salmacis or Salmakis was the name of a fountain or spring located in modern-day Bodrum, Turkey, whose tutelary goddess in the ancient Greek tradition was the freshwater nymph Salmacis. According to some classical authors, the water had the reputation of making men effeminate, soft, and woman-like. This was considered denigrating to men subjected to it for making them take a passive role in sexual relations. Ovid told a version of the myth in Metamorphoses, in which Hermaphroditus calls on Venus and Mercury to curse the waters. Waters that transform men into women are a recurring motif in Near East folklore.

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