Ancient Greece and its eminent persons have been associated with intelligence, artistic creativity, philosophical thought, and being foundational to Western civilisation for millennia. Though, in the last 50 years, there arose an academic recognition of homosexual practices and cultures within ancient Greece, particularly between older men and younger boys – a practice the Greeks called pederasty. But truly how prevalent and accepted was this practice?
Defining Pederasty
Pederasty – defined as an institutionalised relationship between an older male known as the erastes, and a younger male known as the eromenos, contained both an educational and erotic element. Academic opinion on the phenomenon was primarily shaped by Kenneth Dover’s Greek Homosexuality. In this 1978 publication, Dover systematically analysed a vast range of literary and physical sources (vases, mostly), and posited conclusions about the practice, its prevalence in different regions, and distinguished between different types of relationships, and the practice’s connections to education and mentorship. Another significant work in the understanding of Greek sexual practices was the renowned Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, in which he postulated that ancient Greeks did not have any concept of ‘sexuality’ as we do now, and that a dichotomy between homosexuality and heterosexuality did not exist at the time.
Though both these works point towards a clear notion of pederasty and lack of modern heterosexual attitudes, there is also a considerable deal of criticism pointed towards this opinion. A popular critique of Dover’s conclusions on Greek sexual practices holds that Dover’s criteria of what constitutes a ‘homosexual depiction’ in both literature and art are extraordinarily lenient. Out of the ~600 homosexual depictions that Dover notes, arguably only ~30 are explicitly homosexual – some of which include non-human satyrs, who were dubbed “perverted tricksters” by ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder. This leniency Dover takes is misleading, suggesting that homosexual practices were far more commonplace than they truly were.
Practices in Different Regions
The attitudes on pederasty ranged hugely between different regions and city-states. In Athens, practices of pederasty seem to have been limited only to the social elites. In Crete, it appears pederasty was institutionalised more formally than other regions, and was known as ‘ritual abduction’, where the older male (erastes) would ‘abduct’ his chosen youth. Lastly, in Thebes, there existed the famous Sacred Band; an elite military unit of 150 pairs of male lovers – each containing an erastes and eromenos, based on the belief that lovers would fight more bravely to impress and protect each other. However it is essential to note that this relationship was unique to Thebes rather than a common practice across Greece.
There is also some evidence to suggest that women exhibited comparable practices to the pederasty seen in Crete – though ‘pederasty’ specifically refers to a male relationship – on the island of Lesbos (from which the word ‘lesbian’ originates). Sappho, a female ancient Greek poet who lived on the island, had many female companions and pupils. Some of these were possibly lovers, on account of their exchange of erotic poetry. Though many writings from as early as the late third century BC claim that Sappho’s “irregular” character led to her being accused of sexual relations with her pupils.
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Critical Opinion
Interestingly, the preeminent Greek intellectual Plato both seemed to have disapproving opinions on both pederasty and homosexuality, condemning all homosexual acts as “unnatural”. However, historian Paul Cartledge, among others, has pointed out that in Plato’s earlier work, Plato’s “mouthpiece”, Socrates, celebrated same-sex relationships between men, asserting that they could elevate the behaviours of both men involved. Whether Plato believed at the time that these relationships should be free from eros is impossible to conclude.
While pederasty undeniably occupied a place in ancient Greek culture, its practice and associated opinion varied considerably between regions, and by understanding these relationships we can gain nuanced perspectives on a complex topic. However, modern readers and scholars must avoid any anachronism through projection of contemporary attitudes and definitions onto ancient practices and relationships. Pederastic relationships, by today’s standards, are undeniably cases of predatorial, institutionalised sexual abuse. For this reason, it is critical to not romanticise the history of homosexuality in ancient Greece as a defence against bigotry towards the LGBT community – an argument propagated by writers such as Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron.