Tag Info

It is important to note that the modern Western conception of homosexuality as an essential property of a person did not exist in Antiquity: men and women might perform certain acts, but everyone was expected to marry the opposite sex and procreate. No "deeper" theories about these inclinations were entertained, at least not by most. One "was" not ...

See also my answer to the homosexuality question and the Wikipedia articles on Pederasty and Age of Consent. [Disclaimer: I hate to sound unprofessional, but I do not wish to appear to be condoning paedophilia: I find the idea revolting. Nevertheless we must be able to talk about history in a scientific, distanced manner.] [Edited:] The answer to your ...

It's a misunderstanding. It was not pedophilia it was "pederasty" which basically mean teenage boys. This in a time where "teenage" didn't exist as a concept, notably. The connection with pedophilia comes mainly through modern sensibilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty_in_ancient_Greece

As far as I know, the important change here was Christianity that spread out in Europe. The common justification to condemn homosexuality is the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah story. The dominant Christian interpretation of the story views homosexuality as the sin that caused the destruction of these cities.

This is the best I could find on this type of profane theatre. I found a lot on religious theatre, so I get the impression (rightly or wrongly) that much of the theatre was religious at the time and consequently (I'm assuming) not very erotic. If you start reading from p200 it talks about nudity in Byzantine media. It seems that "nude images were associated ...