The persistent dream of a "gay utopia" is one of the nstants gay and lbian historil imaggs over the last 200 years.
Contents:
- WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE
- 20 GAY GREEK GODS
- THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’
- THE ELE GAY ARMY OF ANCIENT GREECETHE SACRED BAND OF THEB FEATED EVEN THE SPARTANSPETER PRKAR·FOLLOWPUBLISHED LSONS OM HISTORY·4 M READ·OCT 11, 2020--3SHAREGREEK WARRRS — ARTISTIC IMAGE (IMAGE:ARTSTATN/@ALIAKSANDR TRYZON)THE SACRED BAND WAS AN ELE ARY UN OM THEB PRISG 150 GAY UPL. AT THE BATTLE OF LCTRA 371 BC, THE 300 GAY WARRRS LED THE THEBAN ARMY AGAST THE SPARTAN ARMY. THE THEBANS WON AND SHATTERED THE SPARTAN NTROL OF GREECE.THE GREEK VIEW ON GAY WARRRSA MALE UPLE ENGAGG TERCRAL SEX. DEPICTED ON ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY (IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)THE THEBANS BELIEVED GAY WARRRS FOUGHT BETTER ORR TO IMPRS AND PROTECT THEIR LOVERS. IF A LOVER FELL DURG A BATTLE, HIS PARTNER WOULD FIGHT EVEN HARR TO AVENGE HIS ATH.THREE THOAND YEARS AGO ANCIENT GREECE, BEG GAY OR LBIAN WAS NOT A CRIME. IN FACT, CERTA SUATNS, THE GREEKS EVEN ENURAGED HOMOSEXUAL RELATNSHIPS.YOUNG BOYS EXCHANGED ROMANTIC FAVORS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE PROVID BY THEIR OLR TUTORS. FATHERS WOULD PRAY TO THE GODS FOR THEIR SONS TO BE ATTRACTIVE BEE MEANT A BETTER MENTOR. SUCH RELATNSHIPS LASTED UNTIL THE YOUNG BOYS REACHED ADULTHOOD.SOLDIERS WOULD FORM ROMANTIC RELATNSHIPS WH ONE ANOTHER TO BOOST THEIR MORALE.THE GREEK SOCIETY DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE ROL BOTH GENRS TOOK DURG SEX. AN ACTIVE ROLE, BEG A PERATOR, MEANT MASCULY, ADULTHOOD, AND PRTIGE. A PASSIVE ROLE, BEG PERATED, REPRENTED FEMY, YOUTH, AND SHAME.FOR A RECEIVG PARTNER, ANAL SEX WAS MEANG. INSTEAD, THEY ENGAGED TERCRAL SEX.THE MEMBERS OF THE SACRED BAND OF THEB WERE ROMANTIC PARTNERS. THEY LLED AN OLR PARTNER THE ERAST (‘LOVER’) AND A YOUNGER ONE THE EROMENOS (‘BELOVED’). EACH PAIR EXCHANGED SACRED VOWS AT THE TEMPLE OF IOLS, THE LOVER OF HERACL.FACTS ABOUT THE SACRED BAND OF THEB
WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE
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. There are not even words the ancient languag which translate to the morn-day "homosexual" and "heterosexual" which were only ed 1869 CE. The Greek term arsenoko, translated as "homosexual" the Bible for the first time 1946 CE, never existed until was ed by St.
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. Heterosexualy and homosexualy were both enuraged and expected at different stag life, wh homosexualy, mon wh prevalent ancient Greek thought, beg seen as the ial form of love and heterosexualy as sential for procreatn.
20 GAY GREEK GODS
Like other opprsed mori, gay people have a reason to voice their hardships and acplishments. One historil suatn that is often sourced the name of gay pri is the ancient Greek society and several ancient Greek historil figur that are falsely portrayed as gay pop culture.
Many morn terpreters of the story, however, have felt fortable wh g the characters’ relatnship as evince of gay glorifitn ancient Greek lerature and culture. Even though the available historil sourc clearly dite that the Greek kg had different female lovers each night, he is nsired the most famo gay man of antiquy, simply bee a screenwrer Hollywood imaged him as one. But how did we end up wh the false misnceptns about ancient Greek society and homosexualy?
THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’
The whole thg officially opened up by Kenh Dover’s work Greek Homosexualy 1978. Sce then, as MacDowell pots out, homosexualy ancient Greece “has been discsed a good al, maly om a soclogil and anthropologil pot of view.
It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeratn to speculate that a rated and experienced historian such as Dover avoid this acunt of the official stance of Athens on homosexualy. Instead, he based his rearch and nclns on certa piec of such art as vase patg and the ialized pictn of homoerotic relatnships scribed briefly by Plato some of his works.
What’s cril to unrstand though, is that homosexualy never flourished Greece as so many people falsely believe today. As noted an article on “In ancient Greece, there was not a word to scribe homosexual practic: they were simply part of aphrodisia, love, which clud men and women alike.
THE ELE GAY ARMY OF ANCIENT GREECETHE SACRED BAND OF THEB FEATED EVEN THE SPARTANSPETER PRKAR·FOLLOWPUBLISHED LSONS OM HISTORY·4 M READ·OCT 11, 2020--3SHAREGREEK WARRRS — ARTISTIC IMAGE (IMAGE:ARTSTATN/@ALIAKSANDR TRYZON)THE SACRED BAND WAS AN ELE ARY UN OM THEB PRISG 150 GAY UPL. AT THE BATTLE OF LCTRA 371 BC, THE 300 GAY WARRRS LED THE THEBAN ARMY AGAST THE SPARTAN ARMY. THE THEBANS WON AND SHATTERED THE SPARTAN NTROL OF GREECE.THE GREEK VIEW ON GAY WARRRSA MALE UPLE ENGAGG TERCRAL SEX. DEPICTED ON ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY (IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)THE THEBANS BELIEVED GAY WARRRS FOUGHT BETTER ORR TO IMPRS AND PROTECT THEIR LOVERS. IF A LOVER FELL DURG A BATTLE, HIS PARTNER WOULD FIGHT EVEN HARR TO AVENGE HIS ATH.THREE THOAND YEARS AGO ANCIENT GREECE, BEG GAY OR LBIAN WAS NOT A CRIME. IN FACT, CERTA SUATNS, THE GREEKS EVEN ENURAGED HOMOSEXUAL RELATNSHIPS.YOUNG BOYS EXCHANGED ROMANTIC FAVORS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE PROVID BY THEIR OLR TUTORS. FATHERS WOULD PRAY TO THE GODS FOR THEIR SONS TO BE ATTRACTIVE BEE MEANT A BETTER MENTOR. SUCH RELATNSHIPS LASTED UNTIL THE YOUNG BOYS REACHED ADULTHOOD.SOLDIERS WOULD FORM ROMANTIC RELATNSHIPS WH ONE ANOTHER TO BOOST THEIR MORALE.THE GREEK SOCIETY DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE ROL BOTH GENRS TOOK DURG SEX. AN ACTIVE ROLE, BEG A PERATOR, MEANT MASCULY, ADULTHOOD, AND PRTIGE. A PASSIVE ROLE, BEG PERATED, REPRENTED FEMY, YOUTH, AND SHAME.FOR A RECEIVG PARTNER, ANAL SEX WAS MEANG. INSTEAD, THEY ENGAGED TERCRAL SEX.THE MEMBERS OF THE SACRED BAND OF THEB WERE ROMANTIC PARTNERS. THEY LLED AN OLR PARTNER THE ERAST (‘LOVER’) AND A YOUNGER ONE THE EROMENOS (‘BELOVED’). EACH PAIR EXCHANGED SACRED VOWS AT THE TEMPLE OF IOLS, THE LOVER OF HERACL.FACTS ABOUT THE SACRED BAND OF THEB
This was a gradg word, suggtg ancient Athens, the so-lled open-md Greek cy-state of antiquy, wasn’t gay-iendly at all. The rt of the ancient Greek cy-stat would be classified as “macho” societi nowadays, wh Sparta beg disapprovg of men who engaged homosexual activi. While tolerance is often prented as a sign of civilizatn's advancement, a readg of Greek mythology reveals greater acceptance of homosexualy ancient Athens than n be boasted wh today's world religns.
While Homer never explicly stat a gay relatnship between Achill and sikick Patrocl, many scholars read a romantic nnectn between the two, as only Patrocl ever drew out a passnate si to the famoly arrogant warrr. Rearcher Johanna Hypatia-Cybelaia wr that lbian and gay vote worshipped her as Artemis Orthia, and that lbian port Pamphilia referred to the godss hymn as Artemis Pergaea.