Teiresias

Teiresias

                                        In Greek mythology, Teiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph Chariclo. Teiresias retained his prophetic gifts even in the underworld, where the hero Odysseus was sent to consult him. At Thebes he played an active part in the tragic events concerning Laius, the king of Thebes, and his son Oedipus.

                                  

Teiresias saw mating snakes

                                 Once, when on Mount Cythaeron (others say Cyllene), Teiresias saw a male and a female snakes engaged in sexual intercourse. He struck at them with his staff, and as he happened to kill the female snake. Goddess Hera was not pleased: as the sensuous seductress of Zeus, she heartily approved of sex - even for the lower creatures. Hera punished Tiresias by transforming him into a woman. As a woman, Tiresias became a priestess of Hera, married and had children, including Manto, who also possessed the gift of prophecy.

       

Lady Teiresias

                                                             According to other version, Lady Tiresias was a prostitute of great renown. After seven years as a woman, Tiresias again found mating snakes, she made sure to leave the snakes alone this time. As a result, Tiresias was released from his sentence and again became a man. In some versions, she struck them again with the staff and was turned back into a man.

                                          

Teiresias with Hera and Zeus

                           Tiresias was drawn into an argument between Hera and her husband Zeus, on the theme of who has more pleasure in sex: the man, as Hera claimed; or, as Zeus claimed, the woman, as Tiresias had experienced both.  Tiresias revealed woman's greatest secret: on a scale of ten, she gets nine parts of the pleasure to his one. Hera was furious, and instantly struck him blind - Zeus couldn't do anything to stop her - but he did give Tiresias the gift of foresight and life which was to last for seven or nine generations. 

                                

Teiresias saw Athena naked

                                             According to other version, Tiresias was blinded by Athena after he saw a goddess bathing naked. His mother, Chariclo, a nymph of Athena, begged Athena to undo her curse, but the goddess could not; instead, she cleaned his ears, giving him the ability to understand birdsong, and the gift of foresight.

                           According to some versions, the cause of Teiresias blindness, was that he was blinded by the gods for revealing their secrets.

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