Introduction
The Greco-Roman world can be defined as the geographical area around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is referred to as Greco-Roman because of the language, culture, religion and government influence of the Greeks and Romans.
Sexual attraction between people, erotic experiences, and responses are all forms of human sexuality. Human sexuality affects the culture, philosophy and politics of a society. Religion, morals and ethics in any society influence human sexuality. All these factors and the social norms influenced sexuality in Greco-Roman world.
Greco-Roman Sexuality
In Greco-Roman world sexuality had an impact on individuals, government and public institutions. An individual’s social rank set by a government official, determined his/her sexual activity. Therefore, sexual misbehavior in Greco-Roman world was punishable by law. Michel Foucault (1988), a sexuality theorist, thought that “sex was governed by restraint and the art of managing sexual pleasure” (p.239).
A male person in the Roman society should be a leader and strong to protect himself and the weak ones in society. The male also had to govern his sexuality. The man in Greco-Roman world was strong and had a strong will power while the woman had to be humble, beautiful, with self control.
The differences in social ranks affected the spread of knowledge in sexuality among men and women of Greco-Roman world. Upper class women were the only ones who got education opportunities because of the demands of society. The education helped them to maintain the standard of their families and improve their social character. On the other hand, the men had the opportunity to be sexually informed through education.
The people from the lower ranks in society expressed their ideas about sexuality through art. However, the rich or upper class people dictated the artists on what to draw, or design because they were the only ones who could afford to buy the art pieces.
The Greek-Roman culture and religion viewed sexuality as a means to prosperity and growth. They used practices such as religious beliefs and magic to improve their sexual capabilities. Erotic experiences were extremely essential to the ancient Greeks, hence, they had to improve their performance by any means possible (Foucault 157).
In the Greco-Roman world, prostitution was acceptable. Men could use prostitutes for their sexual pleasure in exchange for money or special gifts and favors. There was public practice of prostitution without any interference from the state. The availability of slaves, male and female prostitutes made prostitution grow rapidly in Greek and Roman societies.
The visual art materials made by the lower class people mainly had pornographic themes. The rich would buy these pornographic pictures and paintings to add them to their art collections which would be displayed in their living rooms. Therefore, the Greco-Roman world widely used pornography (Dover 6).
Same sex relations in Greco-Roman world
Ancient Greek society regarded the same sex attraction as a natural occurrence. Adult males would be sexually attracted to younger boys as long as they were not of Greek or Roman descent. There was no clear distinction in the sexual orientation of an individual in the Greco-Roman world.
They practiced both homosexuality and heterosexuality freely. An example of the same sex relationship in ancient Greece is between Achilles and Patroclus, although, it is unknown who the active or passive partner in the relationship was.
In male to male sexual relations, the Roman or Greek citizen would take the active role (penetration) in the relationship. A man had the right to enjoy sex with any male or female inferior to his social class, but he would not violate the rights of other men of the same social class.
Ancient Greece commonly practiced the same sex relations more than Roman society. The Romans borrowed the practice of the same sex relations from the Greeks. Pederasty or Greek love developed from the formation of age groups among the tribal communities.
A young man would be assigned to an older man who would teach him to be a responsible adult. In the process of educating the young man, they also shared sexual relations with them (Dover 5).
Sexual activities in ancient Greek would be distinguished by “the roles of the participants”, i.e. active and passive roles. The active partner would be the penetrator while the passive partner would be the penetrated spouse.
Active partner had to be of a high social class, manly and older preferably with a beard; on the other hand, the passive partner would be a youth of a lower social class. The role of the penetrator was to educate, protect and provide while the penetrated spouse gave his youth and beauty.
Pederasty relationships in ancient Greece would be governed by age; a man would not court a boy younger than 12 years. The right age for a young man to be in a same sex relationship was about 17 years. This relationship lasted until the young man had grown body hair, which qualified him to adulthood.
Comparison
The needs and behavior of the participants distinguish sexual orientation in modern sexuality. It is classified into homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality. In homosexuality, the participant prefers the same sex relations regardless of social status. The partners have the same roles in the relationship unlike in ancient Greece where roles would be defined by social status.
Modern homosexuals believe that preference of the same sex relation is inborn or a medical condition that cannot be reversed. Sexual orientation cannot be controlled because it is the activity of the brain.
Thus, modern homosexuals do not use young boys or girls for their sexual pleasures. However, in ancient Greece, it was viewed as a social status advantage, a measure of self control and control over others.
The Greco-Roman world allowed same sex relations to be practiced freely in society but, in modern society, homosexuality has not been freely practiced. In the past years, rights groups have campaigned for the rights of homosexual but, most of them are still not free to come out in public, and declare their sexual preferences.
Greco-Roman males married women so that they can bear an offspring for the continuation of the family lineage. At the same time, the males would be allowed to have a younger male partner whom they shared sexual relations with. In modern society, homosexuals maintain a single relationship: the males do not marry females instead they marry their partners (Verstraite & Provencal 87).
Homosexuality is not associated with any cultural or social groups in society. The partners are simply attracted to each other, and they both love and protect each other. This is in contrast to ancient Greece where pederasty developed from cultural youth groups.
Conclusion
Greco-Roman sexual relations and modern sexuality differ in some characteristics and behavior. Modern society borrowed sexuality ideas from the ancient Greeks and Romans, but government laws and religious beliefs define the practice of homosexuality. Factors such as age and human rights affect the practice of sexual activities in the modern age.
Works Cited
Dover, Kenneth. Greek Homosexuality. New York: Harvard University Press, 1989. Print
Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: The Care of the Self. New York: Vintage Books. 1988. Print.
Verstraite, Beert, & Provencal, Verno. Same Sex Desire & Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West. New York: Harrington Press. 2005 Print