Born: Unknown, Greece (assumed)
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Greece
Also known as: Megillus
This biography was originally published in the World History Encyclopedia and was written by Joshua J. Mark. It is shared in line with the Encyclopedia’s policies under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The love affair of Leaena and Megilla is referenced in the Dialogues of the Courtesans by the satirist Lucian of Samosata (l. c. 125-180 CE). Lucian’s works made fun of all aspects of Greek society and his Dialogues of the Courtesans is presented as though one is listening in on the private conversations of women as they discuss the various failings of men who are mocked in Lucian’s other works. Leaena is speaking with another courtesan, Clonarium who asks her what it is like to be the lover of Megilla, a wealthy woman of Lesbos. Leaena tells her how much she loves Megilla whose methods of lovemaking are so much better than those of men. She also relates how Megilla has told her that her desires are all “those of a man” though she was born a woman, leading some scholars to note Megilla as the first transgender mentioned by name in writing.
IW note: Infinite Women respects gender identity, including transgender identities. This person’s inclusion on IW is not intended to erase these identities, but rather to include anyone who has lived experience presenting as, and thus being treated as, female and whose own view of their gender is open to interpretation. IW values inclusion over exclusion and wishes to recognize as many different people and groups as we reasonably can.