Note: The following text has nothing to do with homophobia or authors' relation to the affected subject; it represents just a few facts and illustrations of problems of particular historical period.

V Something that you've always wanted to know about the Spartans, but were afraid to ask...

Part I

Interest, associated with the subject of homosexuality in Spartan men's community, is basing primarily on rumors and modern interpretation of ancient world's morality and ethics which cannot be considered the way it is now...

However, the audience, enjoying the heroic deeds of glorious warriors from King's Leonidas Sacred Band, is listening again and again quite attentively to the dialogues between Stelios and Astinos, and not gets tired of seeking out for some hidden tenderness in their glances...
That's why (as we granted with "water and time") all the things that were heard from smart books about "how it really was" should be written down here...

All the men were boys...

Historical document "Ancient Spartan Customs" states quite clearly:

"Spartans allowed falling in love with the pure-minded boys, but it was considered a shame to be intimate with them for such a passion would be fleshly rather than spiritual. A man accused of a shameful connection with a boy deprived of civil rights for a lifetime..."

It's hard to disagree with the fact that not so many peoples in ancient Greece can boast such a "Penal Code"...

In the lonian cities it was thought that sodomy dishonored a boy and deprived him of his manliness. That means that such relationships were not only the not allowed ones, but were persecuted as a violation of public morality.

In Athens, as it's believed officially, dissoluteness was at its zenith in comparison to the rest of the Greek world.

But was it really true?

Every twelve years old boy was choosing an "Ideal" for himself to whom he wished to emulate – someone of the citizens or it could be few citizens... By that, this young man was given an opportunity to avoid the bad influence of his parents and choose a man he wanted to be...

The Demos (citizens) of Athens was taking care of the correctness of these relations. This should absolutely be the relationships between the mentor and the follower, when the role of the mentor was immeasurably superior to the father's one...

Mentor was always called "erastis" (loving) and a follower – "eromenos" (beloved), pointing to the primacy of the first one and subordinate role of the other.
And do not look for a false bottom in these words just as you do not look for libido in such expressions like: "I love my mother/my father/teacher/homeland"...

If you are still in doubt, you can consult the most exact dictionary of ancient Greek language in this world – Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon (1940)...

Upon the boy was coming of age, the names "erastis" and "eromenos" (of course, if there still was this respectful and friendly feeling to the mentor) remained with them to the death, pointing the nature of friendship and loyalty just the same as words "father" and "son" are showing tender love and care of the ones who's calling each other this way...

To be "erastis" and "eromenos" meant to feel permanent responsibility... It's not so easy to be an "Ideal" in all the ages of this world... and to follow your "Ideal" it's not much easier...

Erastis had to sculpt the future citizen-eromenos like a genius-creator, cutting off all what is unnecessary, sifting the sand to see the pearl... And for that he had constantly watch over his own perfection for not to let fall this light idea in the eyes of a child or a young man, who adores him and ready to follow any his advice...

Even more complicated is to be in danger of being accused by the Demos in wrong methods of education... If you were suspected of seducing eromenos, death will be your punishment...

And we are talking only about Athens now... What to say then about Sparta, where were invented the most severe punishments to prevent any possible abuse of minors...

Thus, according to most ancient sources there was no pederasty in Sparta, but it certainly took place and was greeted the custom of admiring the youthful beauty... The confusion of ideas of esthetic voyeurism and sensual desire was considered shameful and unnatural as if it was the lust between the father and son or between brothers...

to be continued...