Conjoined Twins in Antiquity: Reality or Part of the Mythology?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 History of Medicine Department, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

2 2nd Orthopaedics Department, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Abstract

Conjoined twins, was a known type of birth in antiquity. It was mentioned in manuscripts and depicted in terracotta figurines and vase paintings. Such findings were discovered in a variety of territories. Religion, local cult, and simple iconography of a known phenomenon create a debate among scholars to annotate their discovery. Gods and goddesses, magic figurines, sacred marriage, a binary hypostasis, or just Conjoined twins?

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