Ancient Homosexuality Essay The modern self is primarily built up of one’s history, body, religion, politics and entertainment – a Freudian composition of what identity is. And all of these things, the very factors that make the modern self the way it is, roots from the ancients. Cicero once thought that without the knowledge of the past, once shall remain a child, hence, Simon Goldhill’s Love, Sex and Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives. With Cicero’s principle in mind, Goldhill wishes his readers to have a full understanding of who they are and how they came to be the way they are. Among the very controversial societal issues that Goldhill discussed pertained to homosexuality. Sexuality, in the time of the Greco-Romans, meant a love-affair with the phallus. They paraded it in the theatres, processions, public road, and even public memorials. The phallus was part of the classical man’s body, sexuality and sensuality – which, by the way, not only applies to men, but for females as well. The Greco-Romans had a profound relationship with sexual organs and acts, which, the modern man – apparently influenced by the rules of Christianity, might find obscene. A part of Simon Goldhill’s discussions on sexuality is the root of homosexuality. The Greeks had a particular fondness over a scenario where a bearded male desires a beardless lad. In today’s terms, this is the so-called pedophilia, as practiced through the inter-crural activity. This involves the placing of one’s penis between the partner’s thighs, may it be front or rear, followed by thrusting to attain sexual pleasure. Greeks from the seventh century, reinforced pederasty among men from the upper-class society, especially in their twenties, to acquire a young boy approximately aged 12 to love and nurture until he grows to marry at age 30, and later take a boy of his own. Practicing pederasty reinforced late marriage for these males, in the hopes of reducing the possibility of overpopulation, as well as to improve the education – initiation and instruction, of the ancient Greek youth. On Greek vases, one can find a picture of the bearded man – erastes, and the beardless youth – eromenos, as the erastes touches the eromenos’s genitals. The erastes takes the intiative as the eromenos remains passive. But, the ancient Greeks prohibited the relationship between a bearded man with yet another bearded man, and it was shameful that a bearded man becomes the passive one – or pathikos. The pedagogical pederasty is an illustration of a father-son relationship, where the erastes acts as a substitute father to help the young lad on his way to manhood, maturity, and to orient him to become a productive part of the society. The erastes demonstrates this affection by little presents ranging from a bottle of oil to money. The relationship was beneficial in both parties – the erastes provides education, protection, love and a role model for the eromenos – who offers beauty and admiration in turn. In modern theory, this is called sexual reciprocity. Gay does not necessarily mean one is less man or woman than a heterosexual. The ancient Greeks have never defined it in that way. Pedagogical pederasty and the sexual reciprocity that follows it are acts that only show the so-called love – in whichever form you wish to see it, may it be erotic or platonic. However, if we do know the origins of homosexuality, how does it actually affect us as individuals? We do obtain the full understanding of our identities in terms of our sexuality, and the understanding of others’ sexuality. This book simply implies the basic lesson of respect.
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Religious studies - Essay Example
A religion is a set of beliefs and practices of a community that holds them in the obedience of codified beliefs, believed to be the orders from God, and rituals. It refers to both the personal practices and the rituals carried out by a group to reflect conformity of beliefs and obedience to the Supreme Controller. Various definitions for religion have evolved and many materialistic individuals have tried to push the religion to a separate sector of life only restricting it to the compulsory acts of worship and rituals but, religion is in no way different from one’s actions outside his/her place of worship. A number of religions and its followers, especially Islam, teach their disciples to spend their entire life whether in Masjid (Muslims place of worship) or outside according to the commands of God and stress on the fact that religion is at the heart of life. Whichever religion a person belongs to is evident from his daily routine, doctrines of a particular religion are revealed by the rituals and the actions one performs in his daily life. A Christian would go to a church every Sunday, a Muslim would visit his Masjid five times a day and similarly a Hindu would visit his Temple at prescribed times. Islam has been the most controversial religion in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks on the twin towers, but ironically enough since then it has been the fastest spreading religion throughout the world and especially in the West. Due to this astounding fact Islamic doctrines have been used in the context of the following discussion. Belief in the religious context is the faith in the existence of something supernatural, unseen and unexplainable for an ordinary mind. Conviction is thus the first step and the most basic requirement of any religion. To strongly believe the truth of the existence of God, the fundamental principles of a religion, the Holy Book and the honesty of the Religious Leader who brought the divine message is the doorway towards |