Tiresias

Tiresias was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes. I use they/them pronouns for Tiresias as a personal choice due to the complexities surrounding their gender/sex, but most sources use he/him.

There are many myths and stories surrounding Tiresias, throughout Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman mythology. In Greek mythology, the story goes that Tiresias was transformed into a woman by Hera as 'punishment' for hitting a pair of copulating snakes with their stick. Tiresias remained as a woman for seven years following, and lived a full life during that time; they became a priestess of Hera, married, and had children.

In Hellenistic and Roman mythology, the story of Tiresias's sex-change was expanded upon. Tiresias was often presented as a "complexly liminal figure", constantly 'between': between humankind and the gods, male and female, blind and seeing, present and future, this world and the Underworld, etc. They were also changed between woman and man several times by several gods.

Tiresias has been referenced as one of the earliest transgender figures in dramatic literature. There are multiple pieces of media that use them and their stories as a reference point for telling stories of modern transgender people, such as "The Cinema Show", a song by the British progressive rock band Genesis (1973): "I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery. Once a man, like the sea I raged, once a woman, like the earth I gave". There is also a French film, "Tiresia" (2013), that uses their story as a similar reference.