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Pederasty in ancient Greece

Social institution of ancient Greece / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged romantic relationship between an older male (the erastes) and a younger male (the eromenos) usually in his teens.[2] It was characteristic of the Archaic and Classical periods.[3] The influence of pederasty on Greek culture of these periods was so prevalent that it has been called "the principal cultural model for free relationships between citizens."[4]

Detail_of_fresco_from_lateral_walls_of_the_Tomb_of_the_Diver_depicting_a_symposium_scene%2C_5th_century_BC%2C_Paestum_Archaeological_Museum_%2814603183465%292.jpg
A pederastic couple at a symposium, as depicted on a fresco in the Tomb of the Diver from the Greek colony of Paestum in Italy. The man on the right tries to kiss the youth with whom he is sharing a couch.[1]

Some scholars locate its origin in initiation ritual, particularly rites of passage on Crete, where it was associated with entrance into military life and the religion of Zeus.[5] It has no formal existence in the Homeric epics, and seems to have developed in the late 7th century BC as an aspect of Greek homosocial culture,[6] which was characterized also by athletic and artistic nudity, delayed marriage for aristocrats, symposia, and the social seclusion of women.[7] Pederasty was both idealized and criticized in ancient literature and philosophy.[8] The argument has recently been made that idealization was universal in the Archaic period; criticism began in Athens as part of the general Classical Athenian reassessment of Archaic culture.[9]

Scholars have debated the role or extent of pederasty, which is likely to have varied according to local custom and individual inclination.[10] The English word "pederasty" in present-day usage might imply the abuse of minors in certain jurisdictions, but Athenian law, for instance, recognized both consent and age as factors in regulating sexual behavior.[11]