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

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• 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
• 20 GAY GREEK GODS
• THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’
• GAY ATHENS – A GUIDE TO THE GREEK CAPITAL FOR LGBTQIA2S+
• WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE
• GAY GREECE: QUEER CULTURE, LOL LIFE, AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW! ??
• GAY DICTNARY GREEK
• 7 GREEK GAY-FRIENDLY ISLANDS
• TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY

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

The Sacred Band of Theb feated even the SpartansGreek 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.

20 GAY GREEK GODS

The Thebans won and shattered the Spartan ntrol of 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 thoand years ago Ancient Greece, beg gay or lbian was not a crime.

THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

In fact, certa suatns, the Greeks even enuraged homosexual boys exchanged romantic favors for the knowledge provid by their olr tutors. A gay cupbearer on Mount Olymp?

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.

GAY ATHENS – A GUIDE TO THE GREEK CAPITAL FOR LGBTQIA2S+

The LGBT Greek gods and migods prove gay culture is no morn ventn. 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.

Above: Athena, center, a mural by John Sger SargentAphrodeWhile the godss of love is not intified promently as lbian herself, the Greek poet Sappho (as sapphic) of Lbos (y, as lbian) told many homoerotic tal and named Aphrode as the greatt patron and ally of lbians and homosexuals wh the Greek pantheon of gods. Above: Enrique Simo, El Juic Paris (1904)ErosWhile the bt-known myths of Eros pict the son of Aphrode as a fertily god -- the versn that proved spiratnal to the popularized Roman god Cupid -- later Greek myths portrayed Eros as one of several wged erot, and the one regard as a protector of homosexual culture, acrdg to rearch the scholarly book Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic the Ancient World. The persistent dream of a “gay utopia” is one of the nstants gay and lbian historil imaggs over the last 200 years.

WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE

One place particular attracted the longgs of gays and lbians. This was the world of ancient Greece, a supposed gay paradise which same-sex love flourished whout discrimatn. It was a powerful, ptivatg dream, one which scholars of ancient Greece have started to pull apart, revealg a culture which homosexualy was much more regulated and ntrolled than prevly thought.

Wil’s rponse has bee a classic of homosexual apologia:.

GAY GREECE: QUEER CULTURE, LOL LIFE, AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW! ??

In this spired fense of same-sex love, Wil created a genealogy of historil moments which homosexual love had blossomed.

GAY DICTNARY GREEK

From the days of the Old Ttament through to the flourishg of culture Greece and the Renaissance, Wil sought to bear wns to a gay past of ee romantic exprsn. Any ted homosexual the 19th century uld have given you a speech along much the same l, cg the same nonil figur and possibly a few more.

7 GREEK GAY-FRIENDLY ISLANDS

Wil was tappg to a shared gay fantasy about the past, a fantasy which one culture stood out above all others, the world of Classil Greece. It is hard to overstate the affectn wh which 19th-century homosexuals like Wil viewed the Greek world.

TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY

Here was the utopia that they dreamed about – a place which homosexualy was not only accepted, but celebrated. In the warmth and light of the Mederranean, numero 19th- and early 20th-century gays and lbians sought to fleetgly repture visns of this lost paradise and recreate amongst s s.