Greek Homosexuality

Greek homosexuality which involved pederasty (sexual relations between a man and a boy with the boy as a passive partner) was a central feature of Greek civilisation. The writer E. M. Foster had a fictional character in the work Maurice call Greek homosexuality "the vice of the Greeks".

The Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham stated the following regarding Greek homosexuality:

“

Most of the ancient Near East adopted an attitude to homosexuality very similar to that of classical Greece and Rome which simply accepted it as long as it was done among consenting adults. Indeed Greeks and Romans often approved homosexual acts between adult men and youths where it was part of an ongoing educational relationship. This practice of pederasty does not seem to have been approved in the ancient orient, but in other respects the classical and oriental outlooks seem similar.

”

See Also

• Religious Upbringing and Culture Affects Rates of Homosexuality
• Teenager Homosexuality
• Homosexuality