Did the spartans have gay sex

On the night of their wedding, Spartan wives were expected to lie in a dark room and dress as a man - presumably to help their husbands make the transition from homosexual to heterosexual. The army of same-sex lovers who made up Sparta's biggest rivals Although their fearsome reputation is well established in the historical sources, they were by no means the only professional soldiers with a formidable reputation on the battlefield that arose from ancient Greece.

I saw a comment recently that claimed gay sex was encouraged by commanders within the spartan army as a way to encourage unity/form bonds. One of the guests, Phaedrus, waxes lyrical about the loyalty that the lover has to his beloved. Most people with DID have experienced repetitive and severe childhood trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and a dysfunctional home environment.

It can be a way for you to escape from negative experiences. This was due to their founder Lycurgus who attacked lusts on physical beauty regarding it as shameful. The Greeks did not conceive of sexual orientation in our terms e. This relationship was probably sexual, but it was also pedagogical. For a man in love would rather have anyone other than his lover see him leave his place in the line or toss away his weapons, and often would rather die on behalf of the one he loves.

An elite corps of male lovers was unique in Greek history, but homosexual relationships were commonplace. DID is one of the most misunderstood psychiatric disorders. I saw a comment recently that claimed gay sex was encouraged by commanders within the spartan army as a way to encourage unity/form bonds. Plato wrote the Symposium probably around BCE. At that time, many Greek states were subjected to the hegemony of the Spartans, who were enjoying a period of dominance after defeating the Athenians in in the devastating Peloponnesian War.

But one of these states, Thebes, stood up to the military might of Sparta. In many cities, it was a rite of passage for elite males in their late teens to enter into a pederastic relationship with an older man. Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a mental health condition where you have two or more separate identities. According to Xenophon, the Spartans abhorred the thought of using the relationships as the basis of unit formation for placing too much significance on sexuality rather than talent.

If by some contrivance a city, or an army, of lovers and their young loves could come into being. And it was founded on the principle that men so intimately devoted to one another would fight as a cohesive unit. The Thebans knew they needed to defend themselves against inevitable Spartan retaliation. Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a rare condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual.

The partnership was as much educational as it was sexual, with the elder man acting as a role model and protector for his younger partner. Signs and symptoms The full presentation of dissociative identity disorder can onset at any age, [11] although symptoms typically begin by ages 5– [23] DID is generally a disorder that. However, we have to keep in mind that Xenophon was an Athenian exile who was generally pro-Spartan, and his own sons went through the Spartan Agoge.

[1] Although the primary example is the Sacred Band of Thebes, a unit said to have. One Theban exile, Pelopidas, formed a coup and liberated the city from the Spartans, installing a democracy there. It’s important to address misconceptions with solid research to spread understanding and reduce the stigma. The band was the first professional standing army funded by the state in Greek history; most armies in Greece consisted of citizen-soldiers who enlisted only part-time.

From my understanding, gay sex was prevalent but it was mostly older men having sex with younger boys, oftentimes more of a power move than anything. Given the uncertainty of the exact date of writing, Plato might have been referring explicitly to the Sacred Band, which was formed in BCE. A Spartan force had been occupying the citadel of Thebes, crushing opposition and exiling dissidents. He also has translated works of the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca.

Each guest gives a speech in praise of the god Eros and provides his own understanding of love. Romm has written and edited a number of books on Greek history, from Herodotus to Alexander the Great. The band would eventually defeat the Spartan-led coalition, ushering in a decade of Theban hegemony. He cites, as evidence, the mythological hero Achilles, who sacrificed himself for his beloved Patroclus in the Trojan War.

He speculates on the bravery that such soldiers might exhibit on the battlefield:. Xenophon makes quite a number of references to homosexuality in Greece, contrasting a Spartan man's appreciation for a boy's character with other Greeks' greater tendency to physical relationships. On the night of their wedding, Spartan wives were expected to lie in a dark room and dress as a man - presumably to help their husbands make the transition from homosexual to heterosexual love.

These emotional bonds turned the band into a force to be reckoned with. Now he turns to fourth-century Greek history, a turbulent period of shifting power dynamics that marked the transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic era. Keeping the above in do the spartans have gay sex, Xenophon says that the Spartan (semi-mythical) law-giver Lycurgus did not approve of physical homosexual relationships between the erastēs ('lover', the older partner usually aged 20 to 30) and the erōmenos ('beloved', the younger partner usually aged 12 to 18).

Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient GreeceHomosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece was a significant aspect across the ancient Greek city-states, ranging from being a core part of military life to being an accepted practice of some individual soldiers. In Thebes, on the other hand, it was actively encouraged, and even legally incentivized. It was regarded as contributing to morale. From my understanding, gay sex was prevalent but it was mostly older men having sex with younger boys, oftentimes more of a power move than anything.

During their time in the Sacred Band of Thebes, the men were intimately involved in a dedicated same-sex relationship, where an older man was paired with a younger, less experienced lover.