The Myth Of The Ancient Greek 'Gay Utopia' - CURVE

Contents:

• GAY & LESBIAN VAISHNAVA ASSOCIATION
• 20 GAY GREEK GODS
• THE OLST GAYS HISTORY
• THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

GAY & LESBIAN VAISHNAVA ASSOCIATION

In the cultur of the ancient world, there was no need for signatns such as LGBTQ+ bee there was no difference noted between what is now fed as "homosexual" and "heterosexual" relatnships. Scholar Col Spencer not, "Bisexualy the male was accepted as natural and never drew adverse ment, but passive homosexualy ma the Egyptians feel uneasy.

The tale of Sodom and Gomorrah om the Book of Genis is also monly ced attacks on the gay muny, but even Church Fathers such as Sat Ambrose (d. Issu the morn-day regardg genr inty and civil rights for members of the LGBTQ muny are a relatively recent phenomenon as are the terms 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual'. Kertbeny, a closeted gay man, had lost a close iend his youth who killed himself after he was extorted by a blackmailer who found out he was gay.

Although homosexual relatnships were, of urse, regnized prr to Kertbeny, he was among the first to argue that one’s sexual preference and genr inty was nate – not a choice – and that a gay man should not be equated wh effemacy by potg to great hero of antiquy who were gay. History, both morn and ancient, tells the stori of many people whose sexualy is downplayed or ignored bee, for centuri after the rise of Christiany, homosexualy was nsired a shameful s. One of the biblil passag most often ced the prent to nmn same-sex relatnships, Romans 1:24-27, any translatn, mentns how men and women gave up "natural relatns for unnatural" and mted "shamels acts" but, the ntext of the whole passage, this should be unrstood as referencg idolatro behavr – behavg as pagans did at i – rather than a mted gay relatnship.

20 GAY GREEK GODS

Later European translators of the Bible terpreted the reference to pagan sexual practic as viance, and this was fally terpreted as 'homosexualy' the 1946 Revised Standard Versn of the Bible (Cannon, 9). Some scholars, fact – cludg the bishop John Shelby Spong - have suggted that Pl’s "thorn the flh" (II Corthians 12:6-7) is a reference to his own homosexualy which he seems to have stggled wh. It has also been poted out that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah om the Book of Genis, also equently ed to nmn homosexualy, is actually a utnary tale on the importance of hospaly.

Although there is certaly evince of negative personal views toward homosexual practic pre-Christian civilizatn, the seem to have to do wh eher loss of a man’s virily and stat as a man, loss of a young woman’s virgy, or, the se of certa perds of Roman history, extreme licentns and promiscuy.

” In this later perd, we see a newfound homophobic ristance to the re that, the reactn’s vrl, speaks to the role this re uld really play for men mtg themselv to each other: The Patriarch’s words acknowledge the realy that no matter s tentn, the re enabled the space for sexual timaci between men. Rape and regulatnHomosexualy the legnsLbian loveThe time of ChristianyDurg the time of the Republic, Roman cizens had the right (libertas) to protect their bodi om physil ercn, cludg both rporal punishment and sexual vlence.

THE OLST GAYS HISTORY

Generally speakg, civilian life, homosexualy was rather rare and treated reluctantly (as evinced by referenc source texts, which noted outrageo, characteristic and equent thgs), and such relatns were tolerated, as I mentned if the Roman cizen was an active party ( otherwise, Roman blood was ntamated.

Homosexualy among men was tolerated and accepted but was fely not the if any high-rankg ee-born Roman allowed himself to be passive durg terurse, he risked mockery. However, Caligula, wh the nsistent characteristic of the mentally ill, although he himself is strongly bisexual, orred all homosexuals to be sent to hard labour Sardia one day. Dpe the fact that the Romans viewed marriage as a heterosexual relatnship for procreatn, the early Empire, some homosexual upl managed to get married the pany of iends.

THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

It was also emphasized that lbians were distguished by larger time of ChristianyThe suatn of homosexuals ancient Rome began to change at the begng of the 3rd century CE when Emperor Philip the Arab banned male prostutn. Today you n have a lbian who was born a man and a gay male who was born a woman or a male prison who behav ways that to the outsi world appear homosexual, but to the prison, ​the muny do not, alongsi the more tradnal homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual rol.

Sce the ncepts 'heterosexual' and 'homosexual' did not exist, but there do seem to be a high gree of rrelatn between the nduct of men intified as caedi and that of some men now labeled 'homosexuals, ' though mt be appreciated that the morn term is clil while the ancient one is emotnal and even hostile, and that both have been imposed om outsi. Even as they emphasised the Christian msage of this scene, homosexual artists of the Renaissance were not bld to the more obv meang of the Ganyme myth.