Yet another tale claims that there were in the beginning three kids of human beings. The first kind were make, the second female, and the third a mixture of the two. The males were offspring of the sun, while the females came from the earth, and the third were children of the moon. These early humans were completely round creatures with four arms, four legs, and two faces on opposite sides of a single head. They had two sets of sexual organs on the outside of their bodies facing away from each other. All three types walked upright as we do, but when they ran they used eight limbs to carthweel across the land faster than anyone today could hope to move. They were immensely strong, so much so that they threatened the gods, just as the Titans had done.

Zeus held a council of the gods to decide what to do about these troublesome humans. After much debate, he decided to cut them in half. Zeus reasoned that this would make them less of a threat as well as doubling the number of people who could offer sacrifices to the gods. They would henceforth walk on two legs instead of four. If they still caused trouble, Zeus warned, he would cut them in half yet again so they would have to hop afoot on one leg.

So Zeus split these spherical humans apart, just like cutting an apple in half with a knife. As he divided each one, he ordered the healing god Apollo to turn their faces around so that they could see the gaping wound and remember not to trouble him again. Apollo then took each and gathered the skin on the cut side together in the center of their belly, so that we still have navels to show where the god sewed together our ancestors. However, he left the genitals on the outside near the buttocks.

When Zeus had finished, all the new human beings began frantically searching for their missing halves. Those that had once been all male sought out males and females longed for females, while the children of the moon who had once embodied both genders looked for their opposites. If some found their absent partner, they would throw their arms around each other in a pitiful attempt to reunite and remained that way until they had starved to death. Zeus finally had mercy on them and decided to move their genitals to the front of their bodies. Thus when a male half embraced a female half, they would join together in pleasure and produce children. When two males or two females embraced each other, they could at least give each other satisfaction.

We are the children of these formerely joined creatures that Zeus split apart, though we always long for our missing half. Those who seek after the opposite sex come from the humans who were once a mixture of male and female. Men and women who seek after the same sex as themselves descent from those who were once all male or all female. Love between people is in fact a pursuit of wholeness, a desire to be complete.

Oh My Gods by Philip Freeman