The doctors tried to apply medication, but on the seventh day of the disease, the tumour ruptured, and male genitalia appeared.
[7] Diophantus began to wear male clothes, and doctors concluded that his internal sexual characteristics had been hidden inside an egg-shaped compartment, through which there was a membrane through which excreta flowed.
[2] Samias, who was still in love with them, and yet was ashamed that their marriage was defined as "unnatural", appointed Diophantus as his heir and killed himself.
[10] Diophantus is not the only intersex person to be recognised in the ancient world, and Helen King compares their transition in particular to that of Phaethousa.
[10] According to Luc Brisson, Diophantus' life is one example of several tropes of hermaphroditism in antiquity: "'mixed marriages' producing dual-sexed offspring"; the disruption of family relations; confusion of gendered tasks.
[15] Julia Doroszewska points out that their transition did not stop Diophantus from being active in society, and in fact could be read as a means of social advancement.
[16] According to Stefanie van der Gracht, Diophantus' medical condition could be interpreted as pseudohermaphroditism, which can become apparent after the onset of puberty.