Were the Spartans Gay? Homosexualy Sparta, Ancient Greece | World History

Contents:

• WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE
• SPARTANS ARE GAY HERO “A TTH OR MYTH” IN ANCIENT HISTORY

WERE THE SPARTANS GAY? HOMOSEXUALY SPARTA, ANCIENT GREECE

The state of Sparta ma homosexual relatnships mandatory. The homoerotic element nnot be entirely ignored.

Lbian and gay women’s relatnships Ancient Sparta. Gay men and women ancient Sparta. 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.

There is no evince of any law banng homosexual relatnships where one partner subms to the other, but Xenophon do mentn the forbiddg of physil perastic relatnships by the semi-mythil law-giver Lycurg. While much has been wrten on the topic of homosexualy, both Sparta and other Greek cy stat, the evince is often send-hand, open to terpretatn and / or que possibly a reflectn of an (ancient) thor's bias. Xenophon mak que a number of referenc to homosexualy Greece, ntrastg a Spartan man's appreciatn for a boy's character wh other Greeks' greater tenncy to physil relatnships.

SPARTANS ARE GAY HERO “A TTH OR MYTH” IN ANCIENT HISTORY

Keepg the above md, Xenophon says that the Spartan (semi-mythil) law-giver Lycurg did not approve of physil homosexual relatnships between the erastēs ('lover', the olr partner ually aged 20 to 30) and the erōmenos ('beloved', the younger partner ually aged 12 to 18). there was no law banng homosexual acts wh boys Sparta.

the preferable ncln is that the Spartans had no law on the subject of homosexual relatnships. McDowell's view is broadly le wh most other amic opn; see Brian Bertosa, 'Sacrifice to Eros and Homosexualy the Spartan Army' (2009) - the thor also c other amics this article.