Beyond Pederasty: Finding Models for Adult Male Homosexuality in Classical Athens

Author

Kaitlyn Elizabeth Barnes, University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Classics

First Advisor

Molly Pasco-Pranger

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Modern discourse on homosexuality in Classical Athens has been dominated by the discussion of pederasty, a homoerotic relationship between a younger boy and an older man. Scholars base their work on a huge body of ancient evidence, especially vase imagery and textual sources. Little has been said about how Athenians viewed non-pederastic erotic relationships between adult male peers. I have considered this question, attempting to set aside the pederastic framework which scholars have used almost exclusively. To narrow the range of ancient evidence, I have looked closely at the development of two pairs — Achilles and Patroclus and Harmodius and Aristogeiton — through images and texts from the Archaic and Classical periods in Greece. I propose that the stories of these mythohistorical characters possibly reflect a tolerance for adult male homosexuality in Classical Athens.

Recommended Citation

Barnes, Kaitlyn Elizabeth, "Beyond Pederasty: Finding Models for Adult Male Homosexuality in Classical Athens" (2014). Honors Theses. 496.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/496

Accessibility Status

Searchable text