and others such as Euripedes, Aeschylus, and Sophocles; the dialogues of Plato, and paintings on Greek vases (Dover, p.9). It was in the writings of Plato (c.429–347 BC) above all where the topic of homosexual love was debated most vigorously. In his dialogues, Plato focused on male homosexuality, seeing it as a higher spiritual goal than heterosexual physical contact and procreation. The three famous dialogues of Plato – the Lysis, Phaedrus, and Symposium – narrate imaginary and sometimes ironic conversations about male sexual and erotic relations (Jordan in Haggerty, p.695). Many of the passages in these dialogues describe male love as paiderasteia (pederasty) – that is, the erotic, active love of an adult man for a beautiful, passive adolescent [the word paiderasteia is derived from pais (boy) and eran (to love)]. In the Lysis and Symposium, Socrates (a protagonist in the dialogues) is characterised as the active pursuer of adolescent male beauty. For Socrates, (homo) eros was the search for noble aims in thought and in action. Exactly how the practice of pederasty developed in ancient Greece is disputed, but the surviving mythology from antiquity suggests that Minos, the king of Crete, introduced it to avoid overpopulation of his island.
Athenian society viewed paiderasteia as a principal means of education and socialisation of young free-born boys into manhood and citizenship. As an institution, it served as a complement, not a rival, to heterosexual marriage.
Although the term ‘pederast’ is today pejorative and refers primarily to sexual predators, in ancient Greece the term carried no such negative connotation and was employed in the context of the erastes-eromenos relationship. In this relationship, an older man (the erastes or lover [‘inspirer’ in Sparta]), usually bearded and of high social rank, was expected to actively seek out, then win over a youth (an eromenos, or the beloved [the ‘hearer’ in Sparta]) and instil in him an understanding and respect for the masculine virtues of courage and honour. Such attributes would, of course, not only become useful to Greek social stability, but would also help guarantee acts of bravery and loyalty when asked to defend the city-state on the battlefield.
It is in Plato’s Symposium where homosexual love is expressed and praised at length between an older, bearded lover (erastes) and a younger, hairless beloved youth (eromenos: aged from puberty to seventeen years old). The Symposium is part of what is called ‘banquet literature’ or a collection of informal discussions on various topics, including the philosophical and moral merits of love and the delights of young men and boys. There are many vase paintings illustrating what went on at these banquets or symposia in which young boys often served as cupbearers for invited guests.
Plato’s Symposium describes the strict rules of courtship and love governing the erastes and eromenos relationship. There were many taboos. For example, under no circumstances was a boy allowed to take the role of aggressor, pursuer, or penetrator. Also discouraged was the courtship or sexual activity between two boys or men of the same age or social rank. Intergenerational and correct class courtship was the expectation.
The majority of our primary visual information on the customs and habits of homosexual courtship and sexual practices in ancient Greece comes to us from vase paintings. Greek vases, used for carrying water, storing wine and olive oil, and serving food and drink, were produced in large quantities by local craftsmen and exported all over the Mediterranean region. Many were sold to middle- and upper-class clientele and often carried hand-painted scenes of gods, myths, heroic deeds, or images of everyday life. Many vases, dating from the sixth and fifth centuries BC, show older males conversing with younger males, offering gifts, touching their genitals, or embracing. Also commonly depicted were vignettes of males engaged in athleticism, courtship and graphic sexual acts. Quite often, an erastes would have a vase made specifically for his eromenos to be presented to him along with other courting gifts such as a hare, a cockerel, or a stag. These offerings were standard and associated with the hunt, further underscoring the function of pederastic courtship as a rite of passage. Sometimes, short inscriptions were applied or the word ‘kalos’ (is beautiful) would appear preceded by the name of a favourite boy or adolescent youth.
08. Brygos Painter, Erastes Soliciting an Eromenos, c. 500–480 BC.
Attican cup. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
09. Man and Ephebe, end of 6th Century BC.
Attic vase. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
10. Pan Pursuing a Young Shepherd, c. 470 BC.
Ceramic. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
11. Apollodoros, Two Hetaerae, c. 500 BC.
Attic red-figure cup. Archaeological Museum, Tarquinia.
12. Men Courting a Youth, c. 6th century BC.
Staatlichen Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich.
At around age eighteen, an eromenos became an erastes and was expected to marry, father children, and take an active role in the pursuit of younger men. However, the imposing of such strict social rules often invited transgressions. These were sometimes depicted on vase paintings and could be linked with Plato’s frequent admonitions and warnings against sexual overindulgence by Athenian males. Although of concern to the ancients, these transgressions were minor compared with the gravest taboos of all – oral and anal sex. These activities were regarded as beneath the dignity of the Athenian male citizen and were reserved for women, male and female prostitutes, foreigners (called barbarians by the Greeks), and slaves. Along with female passivity, anal penetration and oral sex were associated with bestial activity commonly represented on vases showing satyrs or other mythological creatures. Satyrs (mythological beings who are half-man, half-goat) are symbols of the conflict between civilised man and his uncontrollable animal passions and desires. Their virility was insatiable and they are typically shown inebriated, with enormous genitals, copulating, or masturbating.
Despite the social and moral prohibition against oral and anal sex between same-sex partners, these activities did indeed occur in private. So, although scenes of anal sex between men and boys are relatively rare in Greek art, they are not entirely non-existent. On the other hand, scenes of men and women performing anal sex are quite common. Most Athenian vase paintings of homosexual courtship show erastai [plural of erastes] fondling the genitals of eromenoi [plural of eromenos] or the accepted standing position, face-to-face intercrural intercourse (mutual masturbation in which the erect penis is thrust between the partner’s thighs).
Anal sex was lampooned by many playwrights, who used it as a gauge by which to judge a person’s morality. The ambivalent social and sexual roles played out between erastai and eromenoi in courtship is implied in some of the comedies of Aristophanes, where the anally penetrated man becomes a target of ridicule and abuse. There are corresponding images on vases in which the anus becomes the site for launching insults or jokes. To be passive and penetrated was a mark of shame and immoral behaviour. Although young boys and men practised homosexuality as a form of initiation into the privileged status of citizenship, the prevailing concept of an active and dominant masculinity had to be maintained. Giving in too quickly to advances was viewed as a sign of weakness and made one ineligible as an upstanding citizen and warrior. It is partly for this reason why many vase paintings show youths rebuking or resisting the advances of their older suitors.
13. Euaichme Painter, Man Offering a Gift to a Youth, c. 530–430 BC.
Athenian
