Androgynes

Androgynes

in Greek mythology, were men-women with four arms, four feet, two heads, and a union of male and female functions. They were very courageous, and even attempted to besiege Jupiter on Olympus. Their fleetness caused him not a little trouble. Jupiter, not desirous of crushing them, as the Giants, separated the male from the female, and authorized Apollo to heal the parts so separated. Of the manner in which this was done, man still carries the mark in the navel; Apollo tied the skin into a knot at the exposed point. In this separation their original strength departed; however, love, the highest virtue, and desire, the strongest passion, are indebted to this separation for their existence.