Pederasty in ancient Greece

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In Ancient Greece, pederasty was a socially acknowledged relationship between an older male (the erastes) and a younger male (the eromenos) usually in his teens. Some scholars locate its origin in initiation ritual, particularly rites of passage on Crete, where it was associated with entrance into military life and the religion of Zeus. It has no formal existence in the Homeric epics, and may have developed in the late 7th century BC as an aspect of Greek homosocial culture, which was characterized also by athletic and artistic nudity, delayed marriage for aristocrats, symposia, and the social seclusion of women. Pederasty was both idealized and criticized in ancient literature and philosophy. The argument has recently been made that pederasty was idealized in Archaic period; criticism began in Athens as part of the general Classical Athenian reassessment of Archaic culture. Scholars have debated the role or extent of pederasty, which is likely to have varied according to local custom...

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