22 — OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — JUNE 1999

 

BY CHARLIE EMONDT

fter spending the last couple
“of columns traipsing across

the burning sands of Israel,
it is time for a break at the oasis!
(Besides, I have to set the scene
for the arrival of Jesus Christ.)
Here, then, is a culture in which
we all might like to have lived.
Pitch your tent, cool your feet
and enjoy!

Everybody’s doing it!

In ancient Greece, as in other
early cultures, homosexuality was
an unremarkable and common
aspect of life. The idea of separat-
ing people into gay and straight

camps would have confused the.

hell out of your average Greek.

The same goes for above-
average Greeks. To Plato, same-
sex love was the only real and
lasting love, vital to democracy
itself. Homer presented the
example of Achilles and
Patroclus, admired through the
ages as the best example of true
love. Xenophon spoke for them
all when he said that homosexu-
ality is just a part of human
nature. Philostratus complained
that one boy who had rejected
him was “opposing the com-
mands of nature.”

Use of the term “boy” and
implications of pederasty often
come up when studying the
Greeks. It is important to note

On Gay History In A Nutshell
Wlllllll Yllll Argue Willl Plato?

that, as in all of antiquity, there
were laws against sex with a
minor child or any use of force.
However, they tended to take
puberty as a natural sign of sexu-
al maturity, and were therefore
comfortable with consensual sex-
ual activity at an earlier age than
we are today.

The most common Greek
same—sex relationships were
between an older mentor and a
younger man. Marriage was a
legal business undertaken later in

_ life mainly to settle problems sur-

rounding inheritance. (To quote
one Roman to his wife on their
wedding day, “My sex life is
none of your business!”)

Nobody here but us

chicken farmers. . .

The golden age of Greece is
filled with famous pairs of male
lovers; 1 could insert a long list
here, but you’d miss the rest of
the story. Hercules is said to have
had l4 himself, but he was the
son of a Greek god — what do you
expect? His world of brave war-
riors was very much a world of
same-sex relationships; we’ll
take a closer look at it next time.

There was even a version of
the Advocate classifieds. Greek
pottery contained many depic-
tions of older men offering cock-

erels ~ chickens — to younger
men to gain favor. (Yes, the
Greeks made the same link
between “cockerel” and “cock”
you’re making right now!)
Conservative historians claim
that the man is a farmer selling
chickens. But countless jars are
painted with these images; others
show feminine-looking boys in
frilly frocks or two men
“wrestling.” Some of these pots

are definitely X-rated!

Just as with the classifieds,
these drawings refiect society’s
idea of male beauty. In looking at
them, you will immediately
notice that they considered small,
delicate genitals beautiful and
larger genitals ugly. (K.J. Dover’s
Greek Homosexuality devotes 10
pages to explaining this cultural
quirk!)

Meanwhile, back in
the kitchen

Women were free to relate to
each other in any way that caught
their fancy. Unmarried women had
only to worry about getting preg-
nant and ruining chances at a good
husband. The only man a married
woman could legally have sex
with was her husband, although he
was free to roam. We can conclude
from this setup that women proba-
bly did a lot of “relating” to each

other. Plutarch reports that in
Sparta, love between women was
common “and even the most
respectable women become infatu-
ated with girls.”

This was also the time of
Sappho, one of the world’s great-
est love poets, who lived on the
island of Lesbos. My Western
Civilization text identifies her as
bisexual because she was married
(therefore she can’t be lesbian,
right?). However, the fact
remains that her timeless poetry
is addressed to other women.

The eagle has landed!
Greek legend has it that Zeus,
king of the gods, was lazing
around Mount Olympus one day
when he spied a gorgeous young
Trojan shepherd named
Ganymede tending sheep on a

hillside. Zeus changedphimself

into an eagle and, like Superman,
swooped down and carried the
boy off to Olympus for sex. (This
story was popular during the
Renaissance. More than 200
paintings and drawings survive,
plus plays and stories.'You know
where their minds were!)

Zeus had his fling and decided
to keep the lad around as a sort of
houseboy. This caused family
problems, since he had to fire
Hebe, who had the job before

Ganymede. Hebe was the daugh-
ter of the queen of the gods; you
can bet it was icy around that din-
ner table!

When Ganymede died (he was '

mortal, afier all), he was turned
into the constellation Aquarius.
This provides a connection worth
pondering. The 1968 musical Hair
contained that prophetic song
about the “dawning of the Age of
Aquarius.” This song became a hit
in 1969, the year the Stonewall
riots touched off the gay liberation
movement. The Greeks gave _us
democracy; why not a little mysti-
cal shove toward our own version
of their Golden Age? ’

For further reading: If you
want to read the story of
Ganymede for yourself, dip into
Ovid’s Metamorphoses 10:55-61
or Virgil’s Aeneid 5:250-257. For
further insight into Greek
thought, read Plato’s Symposium.
For a detailed commentary on
Greek homosexuality, KJ
Dover’s Greek Homosexuality is
a classic. He includes pages and
pages of excellent photos. V

Charlie Emond teaches in
Springfield. He has a bachelors
degree from Queens College and
masters degrees from both
Dartmouth and Keene State.

He teaches college history cours-
es including a course he developed:
Hidden History: Homosexuality in
Western C ivilization.

IN (GONG 4]

presented by

 

First Annual GLBT Pride Conc

This is a benefit for Outright Vermont.
and is sponsored by St. Paul’s Cathedral

SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 1999, 3:00 P.M.

‘line Samadhi S1°11mge1rs*

» ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, 2 CHERRY STREET, BURLINGTON, VT

* The Samadhi Singers is a sacred music chorale made up of friends and members
of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community