Public DomaWhy do we see so many football and gby teams named for the Spartans, and only one for the Thebans, though Theb fact feated Sparta battle and end s reign as superpower of Greece? The explanatn li ep the prejudic of ancient Greek historians and thkers, as do the spiratn for that one exceptn: The Caledonian Thebans, Sttish ggers who fe themselv as gay, bisexual, or ;s start by notg that Greek Theb (not to be nfed
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20 GAY GREEK GODS
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. 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.
THE VICTOR GAY GREEK ARMY THAT GOT CANCELED BY HISTORY
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 explanatn li ep the prejudic of ancient Greek historians and thkers, as do the spiratn for that one exceptn: The Caledonian Thebans, Sttish ggers who fe themselv as gay, bisexual, or ’s start by notg that Greek Theb (not to be nfed wh the Egyptian cy of the same name) had unually gay-iendly laws and social ctoms.
The whole discsn, wh s equatn of male sexual love and wardice, adds a layer of homophobia to the standard Greek slurs agast Theban wlsns and poor rears n sometim spot and rrect for the bias, but outright omissns are harr to overe, bee we pend on Xenophon for so much of our rerd of Greek history. The Theban “gay 300, ” as some have cheekily lled them, are ltle known today, spe of the fact that they too, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, were stroyed to a man as they fought a hopels stggle.