Cultural Impact of Classical Greek Homoeroticism - Ancient Greek Background

Ancient Greek Background

In his classic study Greek Homosexuality, Kenneth Dover points out that the English nouns "a homosexual" and "a heterosexual" have no equivalent in the ancient Greek language. There was no concept in ancient Greece equivalent to the modern conception of "sexual preference"; it was assumed that a person would have both hetero- and homosexual responses at different times. Evidence for same-sex attractions and behaviors is more abundant for men than for women. Both romantic love and sexual passion between men were considered normal, and under some circumstances healthy or admirable. By far the most common male-male relationship was paiderasteia, a socially-acknowledged institution in which a mature male (erastēs, the active lover) bonded with or mentored a teen-aged youth (eromenos, the passive lover, or pais, "boy" understood as an endearment and not necessarily a category of age). However, as noted by Martin Litchfield West: "Greek pederasty...was for the most part a substitute for heterosexual love, free contacts between the sexes being restricted by society."

Greek art and literature portray these relationships as sometimes erotic or sexual, or sometimes idealized, educational, non-consummated, or non-sexual. These erotic images can be found most commonly painted on pottery. A distinctive feature of Greek male-male eros was its occurrence or encouragement within a military setting, as with the Theban Band. However, the role of the band in Theban military history appears to have been exaggerated by ancient sources and its homosexual aspect is doubtful. Moreover while there are a number of ancient texts that indicate the presence of pederast couples on Greek military campaigns, their presence appears to have been coincidental rather than systematic.

Some Greek myths have been interpreted as reflecting the custom of paiderasteia, most notably the myth of Zeus kidnapping Ganymede to become his cupbearer in the Olympian symposium. The death of Hyacinthus is also frequently referenced as a pederastic myth.

The main Greek literary sources for Greek homosexuality are lyric poetry, Athenian comedy, the works of Plato and Xenophon, and courtroom speeches from Athens. Vase paintings from the 500s and 400s BC depict courtship and sex between males.