Male homosexuality
In the ancient Greece most men were poor and could not pay for the services of female prostitutes. So these men seeked their physical and spiritual partners among their own genders.
There were many forms of homosexuality in ancient Greece. For example, homosexuality among women.
Crete and pederasty
In Crete, which was a military city-state like Sparta, pederastics spread, a so-called “initiation of homosexuality”. During this “rite” an older man (Erastes) and a teenage boy (Eromenos) of his choice came into contact. The process of initiation was that, with the parents’ sham protests, the eraser escaped the picked boy and lived and hunted for two months. He then gave the boy “abduction” gifts: a military uniform, a wine-drinking cup and an ox that Zeus had to sacrifice. Rarely, however, has the Erastes abused the abducted teenager. The teenager in this case could take a revenge. He had a legal opportunity to do so. This rite was also known in Sparta.
Athens
In Athens, the same ceremony took place in a simpler and finer form. The mature man did not kidnap, the picked teen boy, just flirted with him. Laws allowed adolescents from the age of 16 to receive gifts from admirers. The Erastes had to be persistent, for they looked at the boy who gave in easily. The essence of the relationship between the Erastes and the Eromenos was that Erastes taught the boy how to act as a responsible citizen and to control his temper. Therefore, in return, he expected and received gratitude, dedication, and sexual compassion. Sexual intercourse was probably done by stroking the penis and thighs. The penetration, the anal sex was humiliating to the passive side.
It was a gross insult that adult power men were labeled with the Eurüproctos flag. The meaning of this was “broad anus”. Thus undermined his prestige. Anal sex with young boys was a very delicate area, and the father could report the rapist by assuming that it happened to his son.
If a mature man could not find a young boy, he went to a gym and picked up young athletes who were practicing naked. The sight of muscular youth often aroused a sexual desire in viewers. Athenian law prohibited gyms from being open after sunset and before dawn – that is, all night – in an attempt to prevent men from engaging in sexual activities. This is also evidenced by inscriptions on the wall near the gymnasium of Nemea and Thera.
Lesbian love
Besides male love, of course, the sexual relationship between women was also known in the ancient Greece. Because of their special education, women were unable to describe their experiences, so few findings confirm this fact. Exception Sappho i.e. VII-VI. century, written in Lesbos, which were very popular throughout Greece. The Greeks considered erection as an erotic innovation from this island, not lesbian love.
Phallos cult
When an ancient tourist or trader visited Greece, he could see phallic symbols on the road. On the island of Delos, the road to the interior of the mainland was paved with huge statues of Phallos.
But the Athenians also often struck the Hermes, the phallic stone statues decorated with the head of the god Hermes. The primary function of the Phallos was to bring wealth, and they were also used to demarcate land boundaries. The Greeks also knew the dildo, called the Olisbosc. They made these objects of wood, stone or leather. We do not know the exact purpose and manner of their use, but they usually appear in images depicting orgies or fantasies.
Read about the marriage and the prostitution in the ancient Greece!