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==Historical sources and evidence==

==Historical sources and evidence==

What is known about homosexuality in Greece is mainly revealed through  and Greek ''tragedies'' (dramas) and mythological stories of Greek gods, and this historical record is overall fragmentary. Of the approximately 1,000 Greek tragedies that were produced in Athens, the learning capital of Greece in little over one century, only 33 have survived. In addition, this and other literary evidence of homosexuality in ancient Greece consists almost completely of public forms, and lacks the evidence of private journals and letters. A further issue is that it is difficult to determine if homosexuality was at all common among all classes, rather than mostly remaining among the upper classes of society. Some assert that pro-homosexual authors have been extrapolate prevalent homosexuality out of little evidence.<ref>http://homosexualityinancientgreece.wordpress.com/</ref>

What is known about homosexuality in Greece is mainly revealed through  and Greek [[Tragedy|tragedies]] (dramas) and mythological stories of Greek gods, and this historical record is overall fragmentary. Of the approximately 1,000 Greek tragedies that were produced in Athens, the learning capital of Greece in little over one century, only 33 have survived. In addition, this and other literary evidence of homosexuality in ancient Greece consists almost completely of public forms, and lacks the evidence of private journals and letters. A further issue is that it is difficult to determine if homosexuality was at all common among all classes, rather than mostly remaining among the upper classes of society. Some assert that pro-homosexual authors have been extrapolate prevalent homosexuality out of little evidence.<ref>http://homosexualityinancientgreece.wordpress.com/</ref>

The largest amount of material pertinent to the history of homosexuality in Greece is from notable philosophers and writers such as Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, and pseudo-Lucian, to plays by Aristophanes, to Greek artwork and vases. James B. De Young notes that homosexuality seems to have existed more widely among the ancient Greeks more than among any other ancient culture. The main form of this was pederasty, a custom that seems to have been practiced mostly among the upper classes, in which an older man (the ''erastest'') would make a young free boy (the ''eromenos'') his sex partner, and become his mentor. This was regulated by the State as an institution. However, this practice was usually a supplement to marriage,<ref>Dover, K.J., Greek Homosexuality (Harvard University Press, 1989, as summarized in "Homosexuality," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 2002)</ref>  and thus is seen as being done by bisexuals. The practice of pederasty is mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', and is evidenced to have existed at least 4500 years ago in ancient Egypt.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXAVf8m_HKgC&pg=PA322&lpg=PA322&dq=Plato%27s+Laws+636c&source=bl&ots=ZjVFYZcdwc&sig=qh8nqrP0-_GCl1p49MgogdYs7E8&hl=en&ei=0sUeSqOxIqbWlQfpnPjPBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=19 Homosexuality, By James B. DeYoung p. 322]</ref>  

The largest amount of material pertinent to the history of homosexuality in Greece is from notable philosophers and writers such as Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, and pseudo-Lucian, to plays by Aristophanes, to Greek artwork and vases. James B. De Young notes that homosexuality seems to have existed more widely among the ancient Greeks more than among any other ancient culture. The main form of this was pederasty, a custom that seems to have been practiced mostly among the upper classes, in which an older man (the ''erastest'') would make a young free boy (the ''eromenos'') his sex partner, and become his mentor. This was regulated by the State as an institution. However, this practice was usually a supplement to marriage,<ref>Dover, K.J., Greek Homosexuality (Harvard University Press, 1989, as summarized in "Homosexuality," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 2002)</ref>  and thus is seen as being done by bisexuals. The practice of pederasty is mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', and is evidenced to have existed at least 4500 years ago in ancient Egypt.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXAVf8m_HKgC&pg=PA322&lpg=PA322&dq=Plato%27s+Laws+636c&source=bl&ots=ZjVFYZcdwc&sig=qh8nqrP0-_GCl1p49MgogdYs7E8&hl=en&ei=0sUeSqOxIqbWlQfpnPjPBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=19 Homosexuality, By James B. DeYoung p. 322]</ref>  

Attitudes toward homosexuality varied in Greece, as general strictures against same-sex eros existed in parts of Ionia, while in Elis and Boiotia (e.g., Thebes), it was approved of and sometimes celebrated.<ref>cf. Dover, 1989; Halperin, 1990</ref>

Attitudes toward homosexuality varied in Greece, as general strictures against same-sex eros existed in parts of Ionia, while in Elis and Boiotia (e.g., Thebes), it was approved of and sometimes celebrated.<ref>cf. Dover, 1989; Halperin, 1990</ref>

==See also==

==See also==