Ancient Homosexuality Essay Example for Free

Ancient Homosexuality EssayThe modern self is primarily built up of adepts history, body, religion, politics and entertainwork forcet a Freudian composition of what identity is. And all of these things, the in truth factors that make the modern self the way it is, roots from the ancients. Cicero once thought that without the knowledge of the past, once shall go along a child, hence, Simon Goldhills Love, Sex and Tragedy How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives. With Ciceros principle in mind, Goldhill wishes his readers to require a full grounds of who they are and how they came to be the way they are. Among the very controversial societal issues that Goldhill discussed pertained to homosexuality. Sexuality, in the time of the Greco-Ro whiles, meant a love-affair with the phallus. They paraded it in the theatres, processions, public road, and even public memorials. The phallus was part of the classical mans body, sexuality and sensuality which, by the way, not only applies t o men, but for females as well. The Greco-Romans had a dusky relationship with sexual organs and acts, which, the modern man apparently influenced by the rules of Christianity, might surface obscene.A part of Simon Goldhills discussions on sexuality is the root of homosexuality. The Greeks had a particular fondness over a scenario where a barbate male desires a beardless lad. In todays terms, this is the so-called pedophilia, as practiced through the inter-crural activity. This involves the placing of ones penis between the partners thighs, may it be front or rear, followed by thrusting to attain sexual pleasure.Greeks from the seventh century, reinforced pederasty among men from the upper-class society, especially in their twenties, to acquire a young male child approximately aged 12 to love and nurture until he grows to marry at age 30, and later take a boy of his own. Practicing pederasty reinforced late marriage for these males, in the hopes of reducing the possibility of o verpopulation, as well as to improve the education initiation and instruction, of the ancient Greek youth. On Greek vases, one can find a picture of the bearded man erastes, and the beardless youth eromenos, as the erastes touches the eromenoss genitals.The erastes takes the intiative as the eromenos remains passive. But, the ancient Greeks prohibited the relationship between a bearded man with yet another bearded man, and it was shameful that a bearded man becomes the passive one or pathikos. The pedagogical pederasty is an fiction of a father-son relationship, where the erastes acts as a substitute father to help the young lad on his way to manhood, maturity, and to orient him to become a productive part of the society.The erastes demonstrates this affection by little presents ranging from a nursing bottle of oil to money. The relationship was beneficial in both parties the erastes provides education, protection, love and a role model for the eromenos who offers stunner and admiration in turn. In modern theory, this is called sexual reciprocity. Gay does not necessarily mean one is less man or woman than a heterosexual. The ancient Greeks have never defined it in that way.Pedagogical pederasty and the sexual reciprocity that follows it are acts that only show the so-called love in whichever form you wish to see it, may it be erotic or platonic. However, if we do know the origins of homosexuality, how does it genuinely affect us as individuals? We do obtain the full understanding of our identities in terms of our sexuality, and the understanding of others sexuality. This book simply implies the basic lesson of respect.