\b0 He was, as his name suggests, a son of \b \cf4 \ATXht12 Hermes\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 and \b \cf4 \ATXht2 Aphrodi
te\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . A youth of extraordinary beauty, he fell in love with the nymph of the spring Salmacis, near Halicarnassus. One day, when the young man was bathing naked in the spring, the nymph threw her arms around him and prayed to the gods that
they might remain united forever. Her desire was granted and their two bodies were fused into one, though it retained the characteristics of both.