West European Studies

Greek civilization began in the archaic period in the 8th to 6th BC and continued through the classical period at the time of the Roman Empire which made it to spread across Europe and the Mediterranean region. The culture of the Greece especially during the classical period was the basis of civilization in the west. One of these aspects of the Greek culture that had significant impact to the Greeks and the western civilization is the concept of their sexuality. In the antiquity period, same sex marriages were prevalent in ancient Greece. The most widespread form of homosexual relationships that existed in the Greek society was the relationships between the youthful boys and adult men (Sinos, 33). These relationships were termed pederasty. The concept of pederasty was linked to the athletic and arty nudity of the gymnasia, segregation of women from social issues and delayed marriages by men.

Pederasty was an integral part of the society especially the military and at some times it influenced troop deployment. These relationships were complex and were classified as either honorable or dishonorable. The society considered it an abomination and a deficiency for a man not have a youthful boy as lover and opposition to not doing so were punishable. These relationships were critical in the Greek society and were an essential part of the educational and social settings. The rituals that were performed before such relationships began included the approval by the father of the youthful boy for the suitors. The boys were protected from seduction by potential suitors by being under the surveillance of slaves that were called pedagogues. There was great expectation especially by the fathers of the boys that the there boys would grow into handsome young men in order to be the object of desire from adult men.

Boys were eligible to enter into such pedestary relationships from the age of twelve but some joined even at the age of nineteen. The boys were at liberty to choose their suitors and had to be seduced by their potential suitors. This made the boy child in the Greek society to be used for social and financial gains by their suitors and their fathers. The pedestary union lasted until the boy reached adulthood. The Greek society regarded the union as a rite of passage of boys into adulthood. The union offered several advantages to the parties in the union for the boys and his family, mentoring by a respected older man was the elevation in social standing and possible attainment of powerful positions in the society (Thornton, 21). When the relationship ended the man had matured, the man turned heterosexual and married but the close relationship remained between the two men of the union and the society permitted lovemaking to continue if the two men so wished.

Pedestary had its rules, and some actions were not allowed, some of the practices that were not permissible included lovemaking between the slaves and boys or paying unengaged boys for sex. These unengaged or free boys could be prevented from perfuming certain roles in the society or were scorned by the society if they were found to have accepted gifts for sex before they were engaged. These relationships were open for abuse and a classic example of this was the case between aeschinian and timarchious in 346 BC. Aeschines argued that timarchiois during his youth had traded sexual favors for public office with several rich families. Arschenian won the case but he himself was also engaging in the vice while in position of power.

These pedestary relationships although permitted by the society, there were provisions for ending the relationships due to certain circumstances especially when there was violence. There was also circumstances when there youthful boy was given the opportunity to declare whether the relationship was favorable to him and in the event the boy wanted to end the relationship , he was given the go ahead. The pedesytary relationship was beneficial to the Greek society because it acted as a safeguard mechanism against youthful sexual immorality. This was possible because in the case the youthful lover committed a crime it was his lover who was punished and not the youthful boy. The relationships also benefited the military by fostering unity because the lovers fought beside each other in the wars (Thomas, 28). The relationships were also aimed as a method of controlling the population by channeling sex to activities that were not procreative.

The heterosexual relationships in the Greek society were characterized by adult men in their thirties pairing up with young women in their teens. The society tightly controlled the affairs of women. For example, in the pederasty relationships, the boys were allowed freedom of choice of their partner from their suitors while in the case of women, there was no choice and they were married off at the direction of their families. The marriages occurred mainly after the men had undergone the pederasty relationships and some of these men maintained this union even when they were married to their wives.

The women were viewed as just objects of safeguarding citizenship through bearing of children. They were viewed as just exchange of property when they were married .The average Greek man had to ensure that the wife sired only his children. This made women to be under tight surveillance from the man by locking women in their houses and monitoring of their movements (Keenan, 2). If a woman was found in a comprising situation with man, the man was charged or even killed

Prostitution was loathed in the Greek society. Prostitutes were viewed as victims of excessive makeup and other ruse methods to improve their beauty. They were also hated for being deceitful and greedy for money. The sex choices that were at the disposal for the male excluding the pedesyral relationships were varied like, male and female slaves, concubines and prostitutes These choices were there for them for free or at a cost. In the pedesyral relationships, there was a deliberate attempt to avoid enjoying the sexual encounter between the two men in the union. The subjects in the relationships mostly practiced intercrural sex where there was no penetration and alternatives like outer course were practiced though the extent to which how this was controlled is not clear (Thornton, 54). The other homosexual relationship that was practiced in the Greek society occurred within the noble social drinking community parties which was termed symposium. The activities during the drinking spree included games, and entertainment and casual sex between the drinking aristocratic groups and female and male slaves. These relationships between the drunkards and the slave boys and guys led to the creation of artistic work in Greece that had the deepest expressions of love in Europe.

The most common method of practicing sex in ancient Greece was the missionary position where the act was performed in bed hastily in bed as it was supposed to be for procreation only. Women had to contend for sex with the adolescent boys and the slaves from his husband. There were few sex taboos in the Greek society and practices such as incest and rape were prevalent although they were regarded as a norm in the society. In ancient Greece, these homosexual relationships were not restricted to men only and there were lesbian relationships as well but they were not as prevalent as those of the male counterparts as the society frowned upon them (Sinos, 39).  The ancient Greek society did not use the sexual preferences of the population to categorize the society into homosexual or heterosexual but rather on the function each played in the action order reflect on the submissive roles women and the young boys played in the society.

Adult homosexual relationships between men were frowned upon and the society regarded them as showing the signs of feminism. The insistence of the Greek society towards maintaining relationships only between adult men and young men and young women were supposed to keep the society with the view that masculine practices were a preserve of adult men and high social status. Feminism was viewed a preserve of women and the youth and was associated with low social standing. In summary, it is evident that all sexuality roles in the ancient Greek society were viewed only in the eyes of men and women occupied a very passive role in determining the sexual roles in the society.