Phaon

In Greek mythology, Phaon was a mythical boatman from Mytilene in Lesbos. Originally old and unattractive, he encountered Aphrodite disguised as an elderly woman and transported her to Asia Minor, refusing payment for his service. In gratitude, she gifted him an ointment that transformed him into a young, beautiful man who became widely desired. According to Athenian theatrical tradition, the poet Sappho fell deeply in love with him. Though they were briefly involved, he eventually rejected her, causing her such distress that she threw herself into the sea—believing this would either cure her love or end her life—and subsequently drowned. Aelian's account differs, claiming Phaon was killed by a man whose wife he had seduced. His story appears in works by Ovid and Lucian, and Plautus mentions him in "Miles Gloriosus" as one of only two men ever to be "so passionately loved by a woman."