Alexander the Great and homoeroticism
The concept of homosexuality in ancient Greece was non-existent, the concept of homoeroticism on the other hand did exist. In ancient Greece an educational system was based off homoeroticism. Homoeroticism was practiced between men and youth, it was a rite of passage into manhood as seen through the practices of pederasty. With this concept in mind the questions that scholars have often asked regarding whether or not Alexander the Great was homosexual have been in query since the idea of this modern construct has been established and it has faced its share of historical revisionism by scholars time and time again. Although Alexander the Great engaged in homoerotic behavior this was not unusual …show more content…
Pederasty was an educational and –for some ancient Greek societies- a militaristic system of sorts, a coming of/or training into manhood, it is through this homoerotic relationship that the eromenos (the beloved, younger male, age 12-18) gains knowledge by the guidance of the erastes (the lover, older male, age 18-30), therefore the sexual relationship between the eromenos and the erastes is deemed acceptable because the eromenos is receiving an imperative benefit from the relationship. Furthermore, age differentiated homoeroticism is characteristic of homoerotic behavior in ancient Greek societies. The roles of the eromenos and the erastes were seen as life stages not …show more content…
In ancient Greece an educational system was based off homoeroticism. Homoeroticism was practiced between men and youth, it was a rite of passage into manhood as seen through the practices of pederasty. With this concept in mind the questions that scholars have often asked regarding whether or not Alexander the Great was homosexual have been in circulation since the idea of this modern construct has been established and it has faced its share of historical revisionism by scholars. Scholars such as Tarn and Ogden have provided their own interpretation regarding the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion. While Reames asserts that Alexander and Hephaistion’s relationship was not fitting of the Dover model but labeling the two as homosexual is derived from a modern social construct. Carney contends that Alexander’s lack of marriage alliances-that some scholars may find telling of his disinterest in women- as evidence to form their own conclusions on whether or not Alexander was homosexual. Disagreement on marriage alliances and historical revisionism has been prevalent on this topic from the 19th century to the present