View source for Homosexuality in ancient Greece

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{{Primary sources|date=May 2024}}
[[File:Cup - Terracotta - 1.jpg|thumb|right|280px|This image has been given the description of a "...courting couple at the symposium."<ref name="2015 Thesis">{{cite thesis |author=Jared Alan Johnson |date=2015 |title="The Greek Youthening: Assessing the Iconographic Changes within Courtship during the Late Archaic Period." |url=https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3334 |degree=Master's |publisher=University of Tennessee |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref> and a "Symposium scene with youths.".<ref name="2015 Thesis"/> Interior of an Attic cup. Artist; Painter from Colmar. Around 500 - 450 BCE. Louvre Museum]]
[[File:Coupe – MSR – Rituels Grecs – AGER inv G 467.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Symposium scene. Attic kylix. Around 460-450 BCE]]

In [[classical antiquity]], writers such as [[Herodotus]],<ref>Herodotus ''Histories'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+1.135&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 1.135] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326212518/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+1.135&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 |date=2022-03-26 }}</ref> [[Plato]],<ref>Plato, ''Phaedrus'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DPhaedrus%3Asection%3D227a 227a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515215410/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DPhaedrus%3Asection%3D227a |date=2022-05-15 }}</ref> [[Xenophon]],<ref>Xenophon, ''Memorabilia'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Xen.+Mem.+2.6.28&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0208 2.6.28] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401022027/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Xen.+Mem.+2.6.28&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0208 |date=2022-04-01 }}, ''Symposium'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0212%3Atext%3DSym.%3Achapter%3D8%3Asection%3D1 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104200131/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0212%3Atext%3DSym.%3Achapter%3D8%3Asection%3D1 |date=2022-01-04 }}</ref> [[Athenaeus]]<ref>Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae'' [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/athenaeus13.html 13:601–606] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728072015/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/athenaeus13.html |date=2012-07-28 }}</ref> and many others explored aspects of [[homosexuality]] in Greek society. Among some elite circles this often took the form of [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|pederasty]], involving an adult man with an adolescent boy (marriages in Ancient Greece between men and women were also age structured, with men in their thirties commonly taking wives in their early teens).<ref>Xen. Oec. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0212%3Atext%3DEc.%3Achapter%3D7%3Asection%3D5 7.5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322062925/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0212:text=Ec.:chapter=7:section=5 |date=2022-03-22 }}</ref>  Certain city-states allowed it while others were ambiguous or prohibited it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cohen|first=David|title=Law, Sexuality, and Society: The Enforcement of Morals in Classical Athens|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|isbn=9780521466424|location=Cambridge University|pages=6}}</ref> Sexual relationships between adult men did exist, though it is possible at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role. It is unclear how such relations between same-sex partners were regarded in the general society, especially for women, but examples do exist as far back as the time of [[Sappho]].<ref name="OCD">''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'' entry on ''homosexuality'', pp.720–723; entry by [[David M. Halperin]].</ref>

The ancient Greeks did not conceive of [[sexual orientation]] as a [[social identity]] as modern Western societies have done.  Greek society did not distinguish [[sexual desire]] or behavior by the [[gender]] of the participants, but rather by the role that each participant played in the sex act, that of [[Gay sex roles|active penetrator]] or [[Gay sex roles|passive penetrated.]]<ref name="OCD" />
Within the traditions of pederasty, active/passive polarization corresponded with dominant and submissive social roles: the active (penetrative) role was associated with [[masculinity]], [[Wealth|higher social status]], and [[adult]]hood, while the [[Sexual roleplay|passive]] role was associated with [[femininity]], [[Poverty|lower social status]], and [[youth]].<ref name="OCD" />

==Pederasty==
{{Main|Pederasty in ancient Greece}}
[[File:Vase - Getty Museum (82.AE.53) - 3.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Pederastic scene between two males. Attic Psykter. Terracotta. Attributed to Smikros. Around 510 BCE]]
[[File:Fresco from the Tomb of the Diver, near Paestum, ca. 470 BCE, Paestum museum (4).jpg|thumb|right|250px|A symposium scene with pederastic couples. Fresco from the north wall of the Tomb of the Diver. 470 BCE]]

The most common form of same-sex relationships between elite males in Greece was ''paiderastia'' (pederasty).  It was a relationship between an older male and an adolescent youth. Not all such pederastic relationships were sexual but many were rather based on friendship and guidance. A boy was considered a "boy" until he was able to grow a full beard. Certain city states allowed it while in others like Athens, laws were eventually enacted to curb such practices as it was considered archaic and unnatural. The older man was called ''erastes''. He was to educate, protect, love, and provide a role model for his ''[[eromenos]]'', whose reward for him lay in his beauty, youth, and promise. Such a concept is backed up by archeological evidence experts have found throughout the years, such as a bronze plaque of an older man carrying a bow and arrow while grabbing a younger man by the arms- who is carrying a goat. Furthermore, the boy's genitals are exposed in the plaque, thus experts interpret this, and more evidence comparative to this, as the practice of pederasty.<ref name=":0">Donnay, Catherine S., "Pederasty in ancient Greece: a view of a now forbidden institution" (2018). EWU Masters Thesis Collection. 506. http://dc.ewu.edu/theses/506</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2021}}

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The roots of Greek pederasty lie in the tribal past of Greece, before the rise of the city-state as a unit of political organization. These tribal communities were organized according to age groups.  When it came time for a boy to embrace the age group of the adult and to "become a man", he would leave the tribe in the company of an older man for a period of time that constituted a rite of passage.  This older man would educate the youth in the ways of Greek life and the responsibilities of adulthood.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Greeks - Homosexuality |url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/19a_p1.html#:~:text=For%20a%20long%20time%20the,role%20in%20Ancient%20Greek%20society. |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>

The rite of passage undergone by Greek youths in the tribal prehistory of Greece evolved into the commonly known form of Greek pederasty after the rise of the city-state, or ''polis''.  Greek boys no longer left the confines of the community, but rather paired up with older men within the confines of the city.  These men, like their earlier counterparts, played an educational and instructive role in the lives of their young companions; likewise, just as in earlier times, they shared a sexual relationship with their boys. Penetrative sex, however, was seen as demeaning for the passive partner, and outside the socially accepted norm.<ref>Martha C. Nussbaum, ''Sex and Social Justice'' (Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 268, 307–308, 335; Gloria Ferrari, ''Figures of Speech: Men and Maidens in Ancient Greece'' (University of Chicago Press, 2002), p. 144–5.</ref> In ancient Greece, sex was generally understood in terms of penetration, pleasure, and dominance, rather than a matter of the sexes of the participants. According to Dover, pederasty was not considered to be a homosexual act, given that the 'man' would be taking on a dominant role, and his disciple would be taking on a passive one. When intercourse occurred between two people of the same gender, it still was not entirely regarded as a homosexual union, given that one partner would have to take on a passive role, and would therefore no longer be considered a 'man' in terms of the sexual union.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Davidson|first=James|date=2001|title=Dover, Foucault and Greek Homosexuality: Penetration and the Truth of Sex|journal=Past & Present|doi=10.1093/past/170.1.3}}</ref> Hubbard and [[James Davidson (historian)|James Davidson]] argue however that there is insufficient evidence that a man was considered effeminate for being passive in sex alone. For example, the lowborn protagonist of [[Aristophanes]]' play ''[[The Knights]]'' openly admits to having been a passive partner.<ref>Aristophanes. Knights. 1255</ref>

[[File:Pederastic erotic scene Louvre F85bis.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Intercrural sex]] between a young adult and a teenager. Fragment of a [[black-figure]] Attic cup. 550 – 525 BCE. [[Louvre]]]]
[[File:Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities from the cabinet of the Honourable William Hamilton (1766) (14780380622).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Sex between youths by the Dinos Painter, fifth century BCE.]]
An elaborate social code governed the mechanics of Greek pederasty.  It was the duty of the adult man to court the boy who struck his fancy, and it was viewed as socially appropriate for the younger man to withhold for a while before capitulating to his mentor's desires. At first, both ''erastes'' and ''eromenos'' were expected to show restraint in the relationship.<ref name=":1">Holmen, Nicole. 2010. [http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/175/examining-greek-pederastic-relationships Examining Greek Pederastic Relationships] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317094523/http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/175/examining-greek-pederastic-relationships |date=2023-03-17 }}. ''Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse'' 2 (02).</ref> Soon after, the younger man gives in to his new mentor—''erastes''—and receives guidance from him. Nevertheless, it is not certain that those in submission will enjoy such "trainings" from his mentor—including sexual favors.<ref name=":1" /> However, it is important to note that not all pederastic relationships were sexual—many were simply forms of [[friendship]] and guidance.<ref>Marilyn B. Skinner, ''Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture'' 2nd edition (United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, 2014), 16-18.</ref>

The age limit for pederasty in ancient Greece seems to encompass, at the minimum end, boys of twelve years of age. To love a boy below the age of twelve was considered inappropriate, but no evidence exists of any legal penalties attached to this sort of practice. Traditionally, a pederastic relationship could continue until the widespread growth of the boy's body hair, when he is considered a man. Therefore, though relationships such as this were more temporary, it had longer, lasting effects on those involved. In ancient [[Sparta]]n weddings, the bride had her hair cropped short and was dressed as a man. It was suggested by George Devereux that this was to make the husband's transition from homosexual to heterosexual relationships easier.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cartledge|first=Paul|title=Spartan Wives: Liberation or License?|year=1981|journal=Classical Quarterly|volume=31|issue=1|page=101|doi=10.1017/S0009838800021091|s2cid=170486308 }}</ref> This marks these pederasty relationships as temporary, developmental ones, not one of sexual and intimate connection like with a woman. During these times, homosexuality was seen as normal and necessary due to the power dynamic at play between an older, dominant man, and a younger, submissive one.<ref>[[Chloë Taylor]], ''The Routledge Guidebook to Foucault’s The History of Sexuality'' (New York: Routledge, 2017), 217.</ref> Yet, when two men of similar age shared a similar relationship, it was deemed taboo and, in fact, perverse.<ref>Cavanaugh, Mariah. “Ancient Greek Pederasty: Education or Exploitation?” Web log. ''StMU Research Scholars'' (blog). St. Mary’s University, December 3, 2017. https://stmuscholars.org/ancient-greek-pederasty-education-or-exploitation/#marker-77603-10.</ref>

The ancient Greeks, in the context of the pederastic city-states, were the first to describe, study, systematize, and establish pederasty as a social and educational institution. It was an important element in civil life, the military, philosophy and the arts.<ref>Golden M. – Slavery and homosexuality in Athens. ''[[Phoenix (classics journal)|Phoenix]]'' 1984 XXXVIII : 308–324</ref>  There is some debate among scholars about whether pederasty was widespread in all social classes, or largely limited to the aristocracy.

===In the military===
{{Main|Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece}}
It is said that there existed a military unit known as  [[Sacred Band of Thebes]], made up of pairs of male lovers, is usually considered the prime example of how the ancient Greeks used love between soldiers in a troop to boost their fighting spirit. Recently, however, the existence of such a band of heroic lovers has come into question. Citing Xenophon's failure to mention it in his work the Hellenica—a political and military history of the first part of the 4th century—as, Leitao (2002) argues that "the historicity of an erotic Sacred Band rests on the most precarious of foundations" (p. 143).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=PhD |first=William Armstrong Percy III |date=2005-12-01 |title=Reconsiderations About Greek Homosexualities |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J082v49n03_02 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=13–61 |language=EN |doi=10.1300/J082v49n03_02|pmid=16338889 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Thebes, Greece|Thebans]] attributed to the Sacred Band the power of Thebes for the generation before its fall to [[Philip II of Macedon]], who, when he surveyed the dead after the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)]] and saw the bodies of the Sacred Band strewn on the battlefield, delivered this harsh criticism of the Spartan views of the band:
<blockquote>Perish miserably they who think that these men did or suffered aught disgraceful.<ref name="Plutarch1917">{{cite book|author=Plutarch|editor=Bernadotte Perrin|title=Plutarch's Lives|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZdpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA385|volume=V|year=1917|publisher=W. Heinemann|pages=385–387|chapter=Pelopidas 18.5|isbn=978-0-674-99113-2 |access-date=2020-02-08|archive-date=2023-04-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424042704/https://books.google.com/books?id=vZdpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA385|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

Pammenes' opinion, according to Plutarch, was that
<blockquote>Homer's Nestor was not well skilled in ordering an army when he advised the Greeks to rank tribe and tribe...he should have joined lovers and their beloved. For men of the same tribe little value one another when dangers press; but a band cemented by friendship grounded upon love is never to be broken.</blockquote>

These bonds, reflected in episodes from [[Greek mythology]], such as the heroic relationship between [[Achilles]] and [[Patroclus]] in the ''[[Iliad]]'', were thought to boost morale as well as bravery due to the desire to impress and protect their lover. Such relationships were documented by many Greek historians and in philosophical discourses, as [[Plutarch]] demonstrates:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plut.+Amatorius+17&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0314 | title=Plutarch, Amatorius, section 17 }}</ref>
<blockquote>It is not only the most warlike peoples, the [[Boeotia]]ns, [[Sparta]]ns, and [[Crete|Cretans]], who are the most susceptible to this kind of love but also the greatest heroes of old: [[Meleager]], [[Achilles]], [[Aristomenes]], [[Cimon]], and [[Epaminondas]].</blockquote>

During the [[Lelantine War]] between the [[Eretria]]ns and the [[Chalcis|Chalcidians]], before a decisive battle the Chalcidians called for the aid of a warrior named [[Cleomachus]] (glorious warrior).  He answered their request, bringing his lover to watch.  Leading the charge against the Eretrians he brought the Chalcidians to victory at the cost of his own life. The Chalcidians erected a tomb for him in the [[marketplace]] in gratitude.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Love between adult men==
[[File:Clarke Ars Erotica 62.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Sex between two males engraved on an agate gem with a Greek inscription.<ref name="Clarke1998">{{cite book |author=John R Clarke|date=1998 |title=Looking at Lovemaking|url=https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520229044/looking-at-lovemaking |page=38 |publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520229044}}</ref> 1st century BCE]]
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According to the opinion of the classicist [[Kenneth Dover]] who published ''Greek Homosexuality'' in 1978, given the importance in Greek society of cultivating the masculinity of the adult male and the perceived feminizing effect of being the passive partner, relations between adult men of comparable social status were considered highly problematic, and usually associated with social stigma.<ref name="Worthen2016">{{cite book|author=Meredith G. F. Worthen|title=Sexual Deviance and Society: A Sociological Examination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMtTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA160|date=10 June 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-59337-9|pages=160–|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=24 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424042704/https://books.google.com/books?id=TMtTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA160|url-status=live}}</ref>  This stigma, however, was reserved for only the passive partner in the relationship.  According to Dover and his supporters, Greek males who engaged in passive anal sex after reaching the age of manhood—at which point they were expected to take the reverse role in pederastic relationships and become the active and dominant member—thereby were feminized or "made a woman" of themselves. Dover refers to insults used in the plays of [[Aristophanes]] as evidence 'passive' men were ridiculed.

More recent work published by James Davidson and Hubbard have challenged this model, arguing that it is reductionist and have provided evidence to the contrary.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/20163707|jstor = 20163707|last1 = Hubbard|first1 = T. K.|title = Popular Perceptions of Elite Homosexuality in Classical Athens|journal = Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics|year = 1998|volume = 6|issue = 1|pages = 48–78|access-date = 2021-10-16|archive-date = 2022-02-20|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220220231755/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20163707|url-status = live}}</ref>

The legislator [[Philolaus of Corinth]], lover of the stadion race winner [[Diocles of Corinth]] at the [[Ancient Olympic Games]] of 728 BC,<ref>[[Aristotle]]. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0058%3Abook%3D2%3Asection%3D1274a ''Politics'', 1274a31–b5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913221634/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0058:book%3D2:section%3D1274a |date=2022-09-13 }}.</ref> crafted laws for the Thebans in the 8th century BC that gave special support to male unions, contributing to the development of [[Pederasty in ancient Greece#Boeotia|Theban pederasty]] in which, unlike other places in ancient Greece, it favored the continuity of the union of male couples even after the younger man reached adulthood, the most famous example being the [[Sacred Band of Thebes]], composed of elite soldiers in pairs of male lovers in the 4th century BC, as was also the case with him and Diocles, who lived together in Thebes until the end of their lives.<ref>Romm, J. (2021, June 6). ''[https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/180453 The legacy of same-sex love in ancient Thebes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913230322/https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/180453 |date=2022-09-13 }}''. History News Network, [[Columbian College of Arts & Sciences]]. Retrieved September 13, 2022</ref>

The romance between [[Pausanias of Athens|Pausanias]] and [[Agathon]] in [[Athens]], made famous by their appearance in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'', also continued from the pederastic phase into adulthood as a stable and long-lasting relationship.

===Achilles and Patroclus===
{{Main|Achilles and Patroclus}}
[[File:Akhilleus Patroklos Antikensammlung Berlin F2278.jpg|thumb|[[Achilles]] and [[Patroclus]]]]

The first recorded appearance of a deep emotional bond between adult men in ancient Greek culture was in the ''[[Iliad]]'' (800 BC). In the original epic,  [[Homer]] does not depict the relationship between [[Achilles]] and [[Patroclus]] as sexual. However, they were depicted as such by some writers in the later classical greek period. The ancient Athenians emphasised the supposed age difference between the two by portraying Patroclus with a beard in paintings and pottery, while Achilles is clean-shaven, although Achilles was an almost godlike figure in Greek society. This led to a disagreement about which to perceive as ''erastes'' and which ''eromenos'' among elites such as [[Aeschylus]] and [[Pausanias of Athens|Pausanias]] {{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}, since Homeric tradition made Patroclus out to be older but Achilles stronger. It has been noted, however, that the depictions of characters on pottery do not represent reality and may cater to the beauty standards of ancient Athens. Other ancients such as Socrates argued in [[Xenophon]]'s Symposium that Achilles and Patroclus were simply close friends.

Aeschylus in the tragedy ''[[Myrmidons (play)|Myrmidons]]'' made Achilles the ''erastes'' since he had avenged his lover's death even though the gods told him it would cost his own life. However, the character of [[Phaedrus (Athenian)|Phaedrus]] in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'' asserts that Homer emphasized the beauty of Achilles, which would qualify him, not Patroclus, as ''eromenos''.<ref>Plato, ''Symposium'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DSym.%3Apage%3D179 179–80] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506054658/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DSym.%3Apage%3D179 |date=2022-05-06 }}.</ref>

===Theseus and Pirithous===
[[Theseus]] and [[Pirithous]] are another famous pair of close adult male best friends of the same age whose strong bond has homoerotic connotations according to some ancient authors.

Pirithous had heard stories of Theseus's courage and strength in battle but wanted proof so he rustled Theseus's herd of cattle and drove it from [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] and Theseus set out in pursuit. Pirithous took up his arms and the pair met to do battle but were so impressed with each other's gracefulness, beauty and courage they took an oath of friendship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.html|title=PLUTARCH, THESEUS|website=classics.mit.edu|language=en|access-date=2022-09-11|archive-date=2011-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728065008/http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to Ovid, [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]], Theseus' wife, felt left out by her husband's love for Pirithous and she used this as an excuse to try to convince her stepson, [[Hippolytus of Athens|Hippolytus]], to accept being her lover, as Theseus also neglected his son because he preferred to spend long periods with his companion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidHeroides1.html#4|title=OVID, HEROIDES IV - Theoi Classical Texts Library|website=www.theoi.com|language=en|access-date=2022-09-11|archive-date=2022-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911191450/https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidHeroides1.html#4|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Ovid]]'s ''[[Heroides]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0085%3Apoem%3D4 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911191503/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0085:poem%3D4 |date=2022-09-11 }}</ref>

===Orestes and Pylades===
[[File:Orestes and Pylades.JPG|thumb|[[Orestes]] and [[Pylades]], attributed to [[Pasiteles]] school]]

[[Orestes]] and [[Pylades]], similarly to Achilles and Patroclus, grew up together from childhood to adulthood. Their relationship is stronger and more intimate than any of their relationships with other people.

The relationship between them has been interpreted by some authors from Roman times onwards as romantic or homoerotic. The dialogue ''[[Amores (Lucian)|Erotes]]'' ("Affairs of the Heart"), attributed to [[Lucian]], compares the merits and advantages of heteroeroticism and homoeroticism, and Orestes and Pylades are presented as the principal representatives of a loving friendship.

In 1734, [[George Frederic Handel]]'s opera ''[[Oreste]]'' (based on Giangualberto Barlocci's Roman libretto of 1723), was premiered in London's [[Covent Garden]]. The fame of Lucian's works in the 18th century, as well as the generally well-known tradition of Greco-Roman heroic homoeroticism, made it natural for theatre audiences of that period to have recognized an intense, romantic, if not positively homoerotic quality, to the relationship between Orestes and Pylades.

===Alexander and Hephaestion===
{{Main|Personal relationships of Alexander the Great}}
[[File:Deer hunt mosaic from Pella.jpg|thumb|The emblema of the [[Stag Hunt Mosaic]], c. 300 BC, from [[Pella]]; the figure on the right is possibly [[Alexander the Great]] due to the date of the mosaic, along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (''anastole''); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with [[Hephaistos]]) is perhaps [[Hephaestion]].<ref name="bare_url_a">[https://books.google.com/books?id=S-cTfNjEhrcC&dq=Peritas%20Pliny%20Alexander&pg=PA78 Chugg, Andrew (2006). ''Alexander's Lovers''. Raleigh, N.C.: Lulu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424042704/https://books.google.com/books?id=S-cTfNjEhrcC&dq=Peritas%20Pliny%20Alexander&pg=PA78 |date=2023-04-24 }}. {{ISBN|978-1-4116-9960-1}}, pp 78-79.</ref>]]

[[Alexander the Great]] had a close emotional attachment to his [[cavalry]] commander (''[[Hipparchus (cavalry officer)|hipparchus]]'') and childhood friend, [[Hephaestion]]. He was "by far the dearest of all the king's friends; he had been brought up with Alexander and shared all his secrets."<ref name="Curtius 3.12.16">Curtius 3.12.16</ref> This relationship lasted throughout their lives, and was compared, by others as well as themselves, to that of [[Achilles]] and [[Patroclus]].

Hephaestion studied with Alexander, as did a handful of other children of [[Ancient Macedonians|Ancient Macedonian]] [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocracy]], under the [[tutelage]] of [[Aristotle]]. Hephaestion makes his appearance in [[history]] at the point when Alexander reaches [[Troy]]. There they made sacrifices at the [[shrine]]s of the two heroes Achilles and Patroclus; Alexander honoring Achilles, and Hephaestion honoring Patroclus.

Ancient writers did not conclusively identify them as lovers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-17 |title=Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion more than friends? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/alexander-the-great-hephaestion-romance-lovers-friends |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=History |language=en}}</ref> However, many modern scholars believe that it is possible  they could have been lovers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-16 |title=Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion more than friends? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/alexander-the-great-hephaestion-romance-lovers-friends |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=History |language=en}}</ref> According to [[Robin Lane Fox]], Alexander and Hephaestion were possible lovers. After Hephaestion's death in Oct 324 BC, Alexander mourned him greatly and did not eat for days.<ref>Fox (1980) p. 67.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=May 2025}} Alexander held an elaborate [[funeral]] for Hephaestion at [[Babylonia|Babylon]], and sent a note to the shrine of Ammon, which had previously acknowledged Alexander as a [[Deity|god]], asking them to grant Hephaestion divine honours. The [[priest]]s declined, but did offer him the status of divine [[hero]]. Alexander died soon after receiving this letter; Mary Renault suggests that his grief over Hephaestion's death had led him to be careless with his health.

Alexander was overwhelmed by his grief for Hephaestion, so much that [[Arrian]] records that Alexander "flung himself on the body of his friend and lay there nearly all day long in tears, and refused to be parted from him until he was dragged away by force by his Companions".<ref>Arrian 7.14.13</ref>

== Love between adult women ==
{{quote box|quote=<poem>    Thy soul
Grown delicate with satieties,
Atthis.
                        O Atthis,
I long for thy lips.

I long for thy narrow breasts,
Thou restless, ungathered.</poem>{{br}} &mdash; [[Ezra Pound]], "ἰμέρρω":{{sfn|Pound|1917|p=55}} adaptation of [[Sappho 96]]}}

In general, the historical record of love and sexual relations between women is sparse.<ref name="OCD" /> However, some discussions about lesbianism from ancient Greece survive.

There is some speculation that pederastic-style relationships existed between women and girls, especially in [[History of Sparta|Sparta]], together with athletic nudity for women. In the 700s BC, the Spartan poet [[Alcman]] used the term ''aitis,'' as the feminine form of ''aites'' — which was the official term for the younger participant in a [[Pederasty|pederastic]] relationship.<ref name="Bremmer1989">{{cite book |editor-last=Bremmer |editor-first=Jan |date=1989 |title=From Sappho to de Sade: Moments in the History of Sexuality |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-02089-1}}</ref>{{rp|pp=27–28}} 

During the year 610 B.C., a group of teenage girls was documented singing classic hymns during ploughing rituals.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2007-11-10|title=Why were the ancient Greeks so confused about homosexuality, asks James Davidson|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/nov/10/history.society|access-date=2021-10-21|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2021-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021220426/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/nov/10/history.society|url-status=live}}</ref> Such songs involved likely flirtation, with lyrics like ""If only Astaphis were mine, if only Philulla were to look in my direction" and ". . . but I mustn't go on, for Hagesichora has got her eye on me.".<ref name=":2" /> 

Around the 600s BC, [[Sappho]], a poet from the [[Lesbos Island|island of Lesbos]], wrote many love poems addressed to women. The love in these poems is sometimes requited, and sometimes not. Sappho is thought to have written close to 12,000 lines of poetry. Of these, only about 600 lines have survived. As a result of her fame in antiquity, she and her land have become emblematic of love between women.

In the 300s BC, [[Aristophanes]], in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'', mentions women who are romantically attracted to other women -- women who "do not care for men, but have female attachments".<ref>Plato, ''Symposium'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DSym.%3Asection%3D191e 191e] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221004952/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DSym.%3Asection%3D191e |date=2016-12-21 }}</ref> The text uses the term ''trepesthai'' (to be focused on) instead of ''eros'', which was applied to other erotic relationships between men, and between men and women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Robert |title=Gay Life and Culture: A World History |date=2006 |publisher=Thames & Hudson, Ltd |isbn=0-7893-1511-4}}</ref>{{rp|pp=47}}

In the 100s A.D., in [[Lucian|Lucian's]] [[List of works by Lucian|Dialogues of the Courtesans]], a female character admits to having lesbian sex, and talks about being pursued by two female characters.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=LUCIAN:Dialogues of the Courtesans Section 5: LEAENA AND CLONARIUM |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/lucian-court.asp |website=Internet History Sourcebooks Project |location= |publisher=Fordham University |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003133203/https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/lucian-court.asp |archive-date=October 3, 2024 |access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>

Lesbian relationships also may be portrayed in ancient Greek pottery. Historian Nancy Rabinowitz argues that [[Pottery of ancient Greece|red vase]] images which portray women with their arms around another woman's waist, or leaning on a woman's shoulders can be construed as expressions of romantic desire.<ref name="Rabinowitz2002">{{cite book |editor1-last=Rabinowitz |editor1-first=Nancy |editor2-last=Auanger |editor2-first=Lisa |date=2002 |title=Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |isbn=0-292-77113-4 |pages=2, 11, 115, 148}}</ref> Women who appear on Greek pottery are depicted with affection, and in instances where women appear only with other women, their images are eroticized: bathing, touching one another, with [[dildo]]s placed in and around such scenes, and sometimes with imagery also seen in depictions of heterosexual marriage or pederastic seduction.<ref name="Bremmer1989"/>{{rp|pp=27–28}}<ref name="Rabinowitz2002"/>

==Scholarship and controversy==
[[File:Pittore guglielmi del gruppo tirrenico, anfora con scene erotiche e dionisiache, 565-550 ac. ca. 01 da necrop. crocif. del tufo, orvieto.JPG|thumb|right|220px|At the centre of the image is pederastic anal sex between two males. At the far left is a pederastic scene between two males. Tyrrhenian amphora. Around 565 - 550 BCE]]

After a long hiatus marked by censorship of homosexual themes,<ref>Rictor Norton, [http://rictornorton.co.uk/censor.htm ''Critical Censorship of Gay Literature''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715184541/http://rictornorton.co.uk/censor.htm |date=2017-07-15 }}</ref> modern historians picked up the threads, starting with Erich Bethe in 1907 and continuing with K. J. Dover and many others. These scholars have shown that same-sex relations were openly practised, largely with official sanction, in many areas of life from the 7th century BC until the Roman era.

Some scholars believe that same-sex relationships, especially pederasty, were common only among the aristocracy, and that such relationships were not widely practised by the common people (''[[Glossary of rhetorical terms#Demos|demos]]''). One such scholar is [[Bruce Thornton (classicist)|Bruce Thornton]], who argues that insults directed at pederastic males in the comedies of [[Aristophanes]] show the common people's dislike for the practice.<ref name="Thornton, pp. 195–6">Thornton, pp. 195–6.</ref> Other scholars, such as {{Ill|Victoria Wohl|de}}, emphasize that in [[Athens]], same-sex desire was part of the "sexual ideology of the democracy", shared by the elite and the ''demos'', as exemplified by the tyrant-slayers, [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton]].<ref>Wohl, pp. 6–7.</ref> Even those who argue that pederasty was limited to the upper classes generally concede that it was "part of the social structure of the ''polis''".<ref name="Thornton, pp. 195–6"/>

[[File:Amphora - ceramic - 1.png|thumb|right|200px|At the top of the image a male guides his penis towards a second male. Below are Komast dancers. Below and right is sex between a female and a male. Below and left is an erotic scene between a female and a male. Amphora. Timiades Painter. Around: 570 - 560 BCE.]]
Considerable controversy has engaged the scholarly world concerning the nature of same-sex relationships among the ancient Greeks described by Thomas Hubbard in the Introduction to ''Homosexuality in Greece and Rome, A Source Book of Basic Documents'', 2007, p.&nbsp;2: "The field of Gay Studies has, virtually since its inception, been divided between 'essentialists' those who believe in an archetypical pattern of same gender attraction that is universal, transhistorical, and transcultural, and "social constructionists", those who hold that patterns of sexual preference manifest themselves with different significance in different societies and that no essential identity exists between practitioners of same-gender love in, for instance, ancient Greece and post industrial Western society. Some social constructionists have even gone so far as to deny that sexual preference was a significant category for the ancients or that any kind of subculture based on sexual object-choice existed in the ancient world", p.&nbsp;2 (he cites Halperin and Foucault in the social constructionist camp and Boswell and Thorp in the essentialist; cf. E. Stein for a collection of essays, ''[[Forms of Desire]]: Sexual Orientation and the Social Constructionist Controversy'', 1992). Hubbard states that "Close examination of a range of ancient texts suggests, however, that some forms of sexual preference were, in fact, considered a distinguishing characteristic of individuals. Many texts even see such preferences as inborn qualities and as "essential aspects of human identity..." ibid.  Hubbard utilizes both schools of thought when these seem pertinent to the ancient texts, pp.&nbsp;2–20.

During Plato's time there were people who were of the opinion that homosexual sex was shameful in any circumstances. In his ideal city, he says in his last, posthumously published work known as [[Laws (dialogue)|''The Laws'']] homosexual sex will be treated the same way as incest. It is something contrary to nature, he insists, calling it "utterly unholy, odious-to-the-gods and ugliest of ugly things".<ref>Davidson, James. "Why Were The Ancient Greeks So Confused About Homosexuality, Asks James Davidson" ''The Guardian'', 2007</ref>

The subject has caused controversy in modern Greece. In 2002, a conference on Alexander the Great was stormed as a paper about his homosexuality was about to be presented.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Too gay for Greeks: Lawyers threaten 'Alexander' suit - Nov 25, 2004 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/11/25/alexander/ |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=CNN}}</ref> When the film ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'', which depicted Alexander as romantically involved with both men and women, was released in 2004, 25 Greek lawyers threatened to sue the film's makers,<ref>{{Cite news|title = Bisexual Alexander angers Greeks|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4032245.stm|work = [[BBC News]]|date = 2004-11-22|access-date = 2006-08-25|archive-date = 2009-02-14|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090214073643/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4032245.stm|url-status = live}}</ref> but relented after attending an advance screening of the film.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Greek lawyers halt Alexander case|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4064727.stm|work = BBC News|date = 2004-12-03|access-date = 2006-08-25|archive-date = 2017-12-05|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171205100658/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4064727.stm|url-status = live}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Brygos Painter - ARV 378 137 - man courting youth - Oxford AM 1967-304 - 01.jpg|Attic [[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]] depicting a lover and a beloved. Brygos Painter. Around 485 - 480 BCE. Ashmolean Museum<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shapiro |first1=H. A. |date=April 1981 |title=Courtship Scenes in Attic Vase-Painting |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/505033 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=135, 143, 145|publisher=The University of Chicago Press |doi=10.2307/505033 |jstor=505033 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414024306/https://www.jstor.org/stable/505033|archive-date=14 April 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
File:Kylix - Terracotta - 2.jpg|Pederastic scene. Kylix. Terracotta. Carpenter Painter. 510 - 500 BCE
File:Peithinos, kylix con incrontri erotici, attica, 500 ac ca., da vulci 04.JPG|Pederastic couples. The outside of a drinking cup. Terracotta. Peithinos Painter. Around 500 BCE. Altes Museum
File:Kiss Briseis Painter Louvre G278 full.jpg|Attic [[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]] depicting a lover and a beloved kissing. Artist: painter of Briseis. Around 480 BCE. Louvre Museum<ref name="Brendle 47">{{cite journal |last=Brendle |first=Ross |date=April 2019 |title=The Pederastic Gaze in Attic Vase-Painting |journal=Arts |volume=8|issue=2 |page=47 |doi=10.3390/arts8020047 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

File:Attic Kylix - Douris - Python - Around 480BCE - J. Paul Getty Museum - Object Number; 86.AE.290 - (3).jpg|<small>Pederastic courtship scenes.<ref name=Getty>{{cite web |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103W7E?altImage=7490ee8e-d0d5-469d-bcee-619ba67fe444 |title=Attic Red-Figure Cup|author=J. Paul Getty Museum |website=www.getty.edu |publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |access-date=8 August 2024}}</ref> It has been commented that "Hares were popular love gifts in Athenian society...[and] ...a hare can be seen siting tamely on the lap of one of the seated figures."<ref name=Getty/> The outside of an Attic cup. Kylix. Artist; Douris. Potter; Attributed to the Python potter. Around 480 BCE. J. Paul Getty Museum</small>

File:Amphora - ceramic 1.png|Pederastic sex. Tyrrhenian amphora. 560 - 530 BCE. 
File:Amphora - ceramic 3 - detail.png|Pederastic sex. Detail of a Tyrrhenian amphora. 560 - 530 BCE.
File:Courtship - Bowl - Ancient Greek - Athens National museum.jpg|Pederastic scene. Bowl. Ancient Greek. Athens National museum
File:Hyacinthus and Zephyrus.png|Hyacinthus and Zephyrus. Attic Kylix. 500 - 450 BCE
File:Hyacinthus and Zephyrus 3.jpg|Hyacinthus and Zephyrus. Figure on the left may also be Eros. Around 480 BCE. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
File:Intercrural Sex, Cup.jpg|A fragment of a kylix with winged Eros and a boy. It shows Intercrural sex between the two figures.  Around 490 to 480 BCE. J. Paul Getty Museum.

File:Kylix - ceramic - 1.jpg|Two males bumping buttocks together. Two figures either side are dancing. Kylix. Attributed to the Manner of Epeleios Painter. 525 - 475 BCE

</gallery>

==See also==
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
{{Portal|LGBTQ}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Eromenos]]
*[[Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum]]
*[[Greek love]]
*[[History of erotic depictions]]
*[[History of homosexuality]]
*[[History of human sexuality]]
*[[Homosexuality in ancient Rome]]
*[[Homosexuality in China]]
*[[Homosexuality in India]]
*[[Homosexuality in Japan]]
*[[Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece]]
*[[Kagema]]
*[[LGBT rights in Greece]]
*[[Pederasty in ancient Greece]]
*[[Malakia]]
*[[Pederasty]]
*[[The Sacred Band of Stepsons]]
*[[Sacred Band of Thebes]]
*[[Wakashū]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Literature ==
* [[Andrew Calimach|Calimach, Andrew]], ''Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths'', New Rochelle, Haiduk Press, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-9714686-0-3}}
* [[David William Cohen|Cohen, David]], "Law, Sexuality, and Society: The Enforcement of Morals in Classical Athens". Cambridge University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-521-46642-3}}.
* [[Suzanne Lilar|Lilar, Suzanne]], ''Le couple'' (1963), Paris, Grasset;  Translated as ''Aspects of Love in Western Society'' in 1965, with a foreword by Jonathan Griffin, New York, McGraw-Hill, LC 65–19851.
* [[Kenneth J. Dover|Dover, Kenneth J.]] ''Greek Homosexuality.'' Vintage Books, 1978. {{ISBN|0-394-74224-9}}
* [[David Halperin|Halperin, David.]] ''One Hundred Years of Homosexuality: And Other Essays on Greek Love.'' Routledge, 1989. {{ISBN|0-415-90097-2}}
* [[Simon Hornblower|Hornblower, Simon]] and [[Antony Spawforth|Spawforth, Antony]], eds. ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary|The Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', third edition. Oxford University Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-19-866172-X}}
* [[Thomas K. Hubbard|Hubbard, Thomas K.]] ''Homosexuality in Greece and Rome.''; University of California Press, 2003. [https://web.archive.org/web/20051206061508/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/cc348hubbard/] {{ISBN|0-520-23430-8}}
* Matuszewski, Rafal, ''Eros and sophrosyne. Morality, social behaviour and paiderastia in 4th-century B.C. Athens'' (Akme. Studia Historica no. 10), Warsaw 2011. 
* Matuszewski, Rafal, "Same-Sex Relations between Free and Slave in Democratic Athens", in Deborah Kamen and C.W. Marshall (eds.), ''Slavery and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 104–123. {{ISBN|978-0-299-33190-0}}.
* [[William Armstrong Percy III|Percy, III, William A.]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20051231063015/http://www.williamapercy.com/pub-Peder.htm ''Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece.''] University of Illinois Press, 1996.  {{ISBN|0-252-02209-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Pound|first=Ezra|title=Lustra of Ezra Pound with Earlier Poems|year=1917|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|oclc=1440346|url=https://archive.org/details/lustraofezrapoun00poun/page/n9/mode/2up}}
* [[Bruce Thornton (classicist)|Thornton, Bruce S.]] ''Eros: the Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality.'' Westview Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8133-3226-5}}
*Wohl, Victoria. ''Love Among the Ruins: the Erotics of Democracy in Classical Athens.'' Princeton University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-691-09522-1}}

==External links==
 {{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Homosexuality in ancient Greece
 |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051231063015/http://www.williamapercy.com/pub-Peder.htm Pederasty and Pedagogy In Archaic Greece]
*[https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/gayhistbib.asp Homosexuality in History: A Partially Annotated Bibliography.]
*[https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/greek-homosexuality/ Ancient Greek Homosexuality]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140103054143/http://www.canadian-anthem.com/1.htm Generally speaking, sexuality in Ancient Athens was well recorded. These ancient artifacts tell the entire story in pictures.]
{{LGBT history}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homosexuality In Ancient Greece}}
[[Category:Sexuality in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:LGBTQ history in Greece|Ancient]]
[[Category:Ancient history of homosexuality| Greece]]
[[Category:Gay history]]