Lovers' Legends : The Gay Greek Myths

A. Calimach

Nine Greek myths, largely suppressed till now, exploring morality and the divine in the context of masculine love relationships between gods and heroes. Ch. 1 Beloved Charioteers, the introduction, defines the cultural medium of the myths. Ch. 2 In Lucian of Samosata's Different Love, a philosopher and a sybarite discuss gay and straight love. Ch.3 Tantalus and the Olympians is a spiritual rite-of-passage parable: Pelops undergoes mystic death and transfiguration. Ch.4 Pelops in Pisa is a story about a chain of treachery and its fatal results. Ch. 5 Laius and Goldenhorse is a cautionary tale about betrayal of trust. Ch. 6 Zeus and Ganymede is a coming-of-age tale about the power of love. Ch. 7 Herculus and Hylas is a martial tale showing that even the strongest man on earth has a tender heart. Ch. 8 Orpheus is a tale about mankind's transition from savagery to civilization. Ch. 9 Apollo and Hyacinthus is a heroic Spartan tale illustrating the conflict between order and chaos. Ch. 10 Narcissus is an allegory on insentivity, pride and on the impossibility of attaining the absolute. Ch. 11 Achilles and Patroclus is a heroic tale of conflict between responsibility and passion.