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Knowledge Blogs Essays A Brief Overview of Homosexuality in Ancient Greece
Knowledge Blogs Essays A Brief Overview of Homosexuality in Ancient Greece
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Learning from the past is one of the primary reasons why humans meticulously record it- and that is why history enjoys such a powerful position in our lives. The world at large is facing widespread demands of the LGBT Community for recognition and basic rights to a dignified existence free from social stigma. While some view this as a herald of freer times; others see this as a gross degradation of human values.
The correctness of either view, of course, remains a matter of opinion- it is however, our duty as mature individuals to have as informed an opinion as is possible.
This article provides a brief overview of societal attitudes of ancient cultures of the world towards homosexuality. Please do keep in mind, what I wish to share are facts gleaned from a plethora of ancient accounts, literature and art- they do not, in any way, seek to judge whichever view any potential reader may hold- and I must ask my readers to extend the same courtesy.
Ancient Greece:
Ancient Greek culture is arguably the precursor to what we know today as the ‘Western Culture’. The major problem associated with discussing homosexuality in ancient Greece is the fact that the Grecian culture did not have an exact equivalent of the practice we call homosexuality today. The reason for this is simple: ancient Greece did not categorize sexual relationships solely on the basis of genders of the participants, but rather on the relative roles the participants played (that of the active ‘penetrator’ or the passive ‘penetrated’). The dichotomy between the active and the passive roles was mirrored in other aspects of society as well- masculinity, higher social status and adulthood were associated with the role of the penetrator; while femininity, lower social status and youth were allied to the role of the penetrated. Sexual preference was not used as a social identifier as we do today.
Nonetheless, sexual relationships between people of the same gender certainly did exist in myriad forms- while some were part of societal decorum; others were viewed with derision and stigma.
Pederasty:
The most common form of same sex relationships between males was the practice of pederasty (paiderastia: ‘boy love’) - a sexual relationship between an older man (the erastes) and an adolescent youth (the eromenos). The erastes tutored his lover, the eromenos, in the ways of Grecian life and the responsibilities of adulthood, while sharing a sexual relation with him. The reward of the older man lay in the youthful beauty and promise of his lover. Traditionally, the eromenos played the passive role of the penetrated while the erastes was the active penetrator.
The origins of pederasty lay in the tribal past of Greece. These tribes would be organized according to age groups. A boy on the cusp of adulthood would leave the tribe with an older man for a period of time which constituted a rite of passage. During this time, the older man would educate the youth and would also take him as a lover.
With the advent of cities, adolescent boys were no longer required to leave the community entirely, but instead to take up residence with an older man.
The minimum age limit for an eromenos seems to be twelve years old, an age younger than that was usually considered inappropriate. The pederastic relationship usually continued until the younger male was around seventeen years of age.
While pederasty was a social norm governed by elaborate rules of conduct, sexual relations between adult males was viewed with widespread scorn- no evidence, however suggests any penalty attached with it. However, it must be noted that derision was solely attached to the male playing the role of the penetrated; there seems to be no inherent immorality attached to the practice itself.
Whether pederasty was common in all strata of society, or was limited to solely the aristocracy remains a matter of debate amongst historians.
Relations between Adult Males
The first appearance of adult males in a sexual relationship appears in Homer’s Iliad (800 B.C.). Although Homer does not explicitly mention that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers, by the beginning of the Classical Era (480 B.C.), the two were largely considered to be pederastic icons. As the Greeks were uncomfortable with depicting Achilles and Patroclus as equals, they tried to establish a large age difference between the two. This became problematic, as Homeric tradition made out Patroclus to be the older, and yet Achilles the dominant of the pair.
Interestingly, Phaedrus in Plato’s Symposium asserts that Homer emphasized the beauty of Achilles, thereby qualifying him as the eromenos, and Patroculs as the erastes.
So far as historical records go, Euripides and Agathon were lovers, both of them being well into adulthood.
Alexander the Great is also sometimes said to have taken his childhood friend, Hephaistion as his lover.
Sapphic Love:
Sappho, a poetess from the island Lesbos was famous for her poetry dedicated to her female lovers. Her fame made she and her land representative of sexual love between women.
In addition to being a poet of repute, Sappho was also the head of a Thiasos (Plural: Thiasoi were communities of women who received a limited form of education.). As the polis evolved however, girls and women were generally discouraged from sharing sexual relations with other women, but were instead taught to be good wives to their future husbands.
Plato’s symposium contains references to women who, “do not care for men, and have female attachments.”
In general however, references to sexual relationships between women were sparse.
In the Military:
The ancient Greeks often used the love between men to boost bravery and the fighting spirit amongst its troops. For example, the ‘Sacred Band of Thebes’ was a separate military arm reserved solely for men and their beloved youths.
Phillip II of Macedon comments,
“It is not only the most warlike peoples, the Boeotians, Spartans, and Cretans, who are the most susceptible to this kind of love but also the greatest heroes of old: Meleager, Achilles, Aristomenes, Cimon, and Epaminondas."
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