Homosexuality in ancient greece assignment

The social acceptability of homosexual relationships was based on the parties involved in the act, not the act itself. Most, who were unaware of the homosexual practices occurring within the army, particularly those living in small towns and villages, had assumed that there was a small minority who practiced the defiling act. Many had believed that homosexuality was a “…sin cultivated by a small minority in Athens” (Dover, 1989, 1), showing how truly oblivious they were to what was happening in their own army.

Many who educate themselves on the topic of Ancient Greek homosexuality are placed under the impression that, “…in the case of Greek homosexuality it was a merely subsidiary phenomenon, something which happened in isolated instances, rarely, and only here and there. ” (Licht, 1993, 412) This is due to the preconceived notion that within such a burly society there would be little to no homosexual deeds occurring at all. The Greeks even went so far as to establish a independent military division called the “ Sacred Band of Thebes”, which functioned as a battalion for men and their young-male lovers.