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

Contents:

• 20 GAY GREEK GODS
• THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’
• WAS ACHILL GAY? WHAT WE KNOW FROM CLASSIL LERATURE
• 10 GAY GREEK MYTHOLOGY BOOKS
• MSO: A GREEK MYTHOLOGY GAY RETELLG (BOOK 1 OF THE MYTHOLOGAY SERI) KDLE EDN
• WAS ACHILL GAY? WHAT WE KNOW FROM CLASSIL LERATURE
• THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

20 GAY GREEK GODS

But rerds of the LGBT romanc survived homophobic revisnists and still stand as celebratns of the origal Greek (and Roman) love. A seri of poems about Catull' gay love affairs has drawn more attentn ntemporary tim; some of gets outright vulgar.

Alexanr the Great and HephatnAlexanr III, the famed kg of Macedon, que likely mataed a gay relatnship wh his general Hephatn. Ined, two of the most famed generals of their day, Epamondas and Pelopidas, were lovers who fought wh this famo band of gay warrrs.

THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

Pdar and TheoxenThe most famo love poem wrten by Pdar to clare his love for the young Theoxen was scribed by gay rights scholar Magn Hirschfeld as "one of the most perfect love songs the Greek language.

Ort and PylasThe relatnship between the two men was celebrated by Greek scholars as a tale of the wonr of homoerotic romance.

He lived wh longtime lover Psanias, who was quoted extensively on the subject of homosexual sire Plato's work. A gay cupbearer on Mount Olymp?

WAS ACHILL GAY? WHAT WE KNOW FROM CLASSIL LERATURE

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. 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.

10 GAY GREEK MYTHOLOGY BOOKS

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

MSO: A GREEK MYTHOLOGY GAY RETELLG (BOOK 1 OF THE MYTHOLOGAY SERI) KDLE EDN

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.

WAS ACHILL GAY? WHAT WE KNOW FROM CLASSIL LERATURE

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. 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. This legacy ntued well to the 20th century, so much so that the homosexualy of the Greeks probably unts as one of Wtern culture’s worst kept secrets.

Every time that the legal rights of gays and lbians have been discsed, somebody will evoke the Greeks. Ined, the associatn between Greece and homosexualy is so strong that even anti-same-sex marriage advot are not above g to support their arguments.

THE MYTH OF THE ANCIENT GREEK ‘GAY UTOPIA’

In the US Supreme Court se that legalised same-sex marriage, one of the dissentg judg, Jtice Samuel Alo noted that while the Greeks and Romans approved of homosexual relatns, they never created an stutn of same-sex marriage. Dried fish and fightg cks were the ancient homosexual equivalent of flowers and cholat.

Myths relatg to homosexual love also rarely end well. Ined, he was so succsful proselytisg for homosexualy that he upset the lol female followers of Dnys, the god of we and drama. Passn, jealoy and ath are repeated motifs Greek homosexual myths.

Osr Wil popularised the green rnatn as a symbol of homosexualy visibily. Neverthels, all the efforts unrtaken by the Greeks to regulate the relatnships do challenge to nsir why societi are so ightened by love, not only gay, but straight sire also. A gay utopia may be possible, but is a project for the future, not a lost relic of the past.