Homosexuality in Greek myth

Bernard Sergent, George Dumézil

Arguing that homosexuality of the classical era grew out of the prehistorical practice of initiatory homosexuality, Sergent examines initiation rites in a wide variety of ancient cultures, particularly in Crete and among a group of Germanic peoples. In these two cultures, a sexually active adult, the erastes, was the mentor/suitor of an adolescent boy, the eromenos. The boy was ritualistically kidnapped and then lived in the wild for a prescribed period, during which time the erastes taught him to hunt and slept with him. Killing a boar or bear - the final trial - qualified the eromenos as a hunter and signified his ascent to adult status. To illustrate his compelling thesis, Sergent provides an exhaustive survey of the Greek myths, demonstrating that the homosexual relationships of male gods and heroes follow a similar pattern of ritual initiation.