#ancient queers

Long before homosexuality was defined or thought of as an identity or a mental illness, people engaged in homosexual behaviors. In ancient Greece, a relationship between an older man and a pubescent boy was called pederasty, and was considered an ideal form of love. Pederast relationships were the norm, and a passage to manhood. Once a boy grew facial hair, he took a younger lover and the cycle continued.

These relationships did not exclude heterosexual marriage, as having children and becoming the head of a house was one’s duty. Homosexual relationships between two men of the same age were not encouraged, but were tolerated as long as both men also took wives. This type of relationship also existed in Rome, the Middle East, and Japan. In Arab, a relationship between an older man and a young boy was called liwat, and had a similar societal understanding as Greek and Roman pederasty. In Japan, this culture existed as wakasu-do and especially existed in theatre, monasteries, and samurai culture.