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No one knows exactly how homosexuality entered into human history. I would imagine that the practices associated with the erotic attraction of people to one's own gender have been around since the dawn of humanity. The earliest accounts of homosexual behavior seem to be found in ancient pagan religious practices. At least, the pagans included homosexuality in the worship of various gods.
Whether the inclusion in worship was because the practice was already a part of the society-at-large or if the pagan worship introduced the practice is impossible to determine, although some understandings of Paul's writings argue for the latter. Human beings began to worship many gods very early in human history. These early gods were most often associated with fertility, agriculture, and war. One of the early gods of the Assyrians, which later spread into the area known as Canaan, was the goddess Asherah. She was worshipped as the goddess of fertility. Often worship of this goddess included orgies and sexual practices.
The goddess of fertility was often worshipped in the form of a tree with many female breasts carved into the trunk. These trees were central in a grove where worship was conducted. One would invoke or appease the goddess in order to gain fertility for one's self, the tribe, or the clan. When polytheism, the worship of many gods, was dominant on the earth, gods could be both male and female. These gods were not considered to be infallible or all-powerful like the Christian concept of God. Often they were very much like people with desires and the ability to make mistakes.
Gods were believed to have sex with one another and procreate. Those who practiced these religions often felt that the nature of these gods had to be appeased in order for the tribe to survive. Having sex with a god as a part of worship, or to seek help for fertile crops, animals, or selves, was a logical extension of the concept of polytheism. Since sex was required for fertility in humans, they believed having sex with a god was all the more crucial and beneficial. Giving the Male God More Male-ness Most likely, additional homosexual practices became a part of polytheistic worship as a successor to masturbation. Evidence suggests pagan priests orally stimulated the sexual organs of the worshippers in order to facilitate masturbation in ancient mid-eastern cults.
If one believed that having sex with a god would bring fertility, it was easy to also believe that, if a man added his male-ness, through his semen, to a male god, fertility would be multiplied all the more. Male gods could plant seeds and were therefore seen as more productive than the female gods to some. When a man ejaculated his semen into another man's anus at the shrine, he was depositing more male power to the gods. With the additional strength of the semen of many men, the god could then insure a bountiful crop, a larger herd, and many children to care for the field.
This practice grew into, not only forms of pagan worship, but also a means of supplying money for the temple. Catamites, boys and men who were exclusively used for passive anal sex, began to serve the temples. One must wonder whether boys were sometimes forced into this kind of sexual contact due to economic circumstances, much like their female counterparts. Women often survived only by prostitution since they were allowed no inheritance. Orphan boys may often have found themselves in the same predicament. Regardless, it was very early in human history that both male and female prostitutes were used in temple worship in order to raise funds for the temple, as well as support themselves.
Homosexuality in Ancient Greece Greek culture is often promoted as the most accepting of homosexuality. To some extent, this may be true. The Greeks developed a hedonistic attitude toward the human body and sexuality. Although we may think of hedonism as lustful today, Greek philosophers wrote of hedonism in much more glowing terms. They believed that the naked human body, both male and female, was worthy of respect and admiration. They took great pride in the physical form.
Public nudity was both tolerated and often encouraged. The art and statuary of the ancient Greeks reflects this love for the body, particularly the male body. A major negative of this attitude is that those who were handicapped or unattractive children were often left to die, killed, or used in sacrifice to a god. It was not unusual for men to comment on the attractiveness of other men, or for them to express affection for one another. At least part of the reason for this fascination with physical attractiveness and sex is that the Greeks had developed into a culture that had a great deal of leisure time. They were not required to work constantly in order to survive.
Blumenfeld and Raymond wrote: Similarly, the Greek attitude toward sex was, for the most part, value-neutral. And, though exclusive homosexuality was probably discouraged as a threat to the family, it was widely tolerated both for older men who had children and for younger men prior to marriage. (Blumenfeld and Raymond 1988, 155) The Greek military attitude toward homosexuality was that it brought a sense of comradeship. It was often believed that a person would fight harder to protect his unit if that unit included a lover or lovers. This unique form of male bonding is attributed by some to the greatness of the Greek military might.
In spite of this encouragement of homosexual practices, the picture is different for those who were exclusively passive at anal sex. They were believed to be polluted, and to have become like women. Therefore, they were expelled from military service as untrustworthy. The issue of being exclusively homosexual was extremely difficult. Although the Greeks recognized passion and erotic attraction to both and either sex, they were not tolerant of those who were not also attracted to women. This could very well be due to the recognition that society must be able to reproduce in order to survive.
The union of a man and a woman is required to reproduce. After the age of nineteen or so, the young man was expected to marry and establish a family. Those who did not, or who continued to engage in homosexual relations exclusively, were subject to ridicule, or worse. In addition, exclusive sexual passivity in men was met with criticism and, at times, treated severely...
rape of a free boy / young man (no such sanctions existed for conduct with slaves) was harshly punished, and male prostitution (again, by citizens) was condemned severely. (Ibid. 157 - 158) Greek society only negatively defined homosexual activity when it was exclusive or related to prostitution by a citizen. In nearly every other instance, homosexual conduct was considered acceptable and practical. It was simply a way of enjoying the beauty and awesomeness of the male bodies that they revered so highly. The attitude toward the family and education could have also played a role in the attitude toward homosexuality.
The family was considered the basis for reproduction. Women were restricted in their sexual activity because they were needed in order to bear children. Men could have sex with either women or men, so long as they met their societal obligation to reproduce. This is probably why exclusive anal sex was prohibited. Catamites could not bear children for their partners. Fathers were not seen as the primary agent of socialization, and the mothers were often only useful for nursing and caring for children.
The state took the greatest amount of responsibility for the child. Education was the responsibility of the teachers and philosophers. Girls were excluded from the education system that was designed to teach boys how to be men. The student was expected to respect and admire his teacher. The teacher was expected to gain the devotion and affection of his student.
Therefore, homosexual conduct between a teacher and student was considered a valuable part of the education process. The family, on the other hand, was simply needed for procreation. Homosexuality in Ancient Rome Another great civilization was that of the Romans. This empire was influenced heavily by the Greeks. Hellenistic influence included attitudes toward sexuality. Roman gods are virtually the same as Greek gods except that their names are Latin.
It is said that fourteen of the first fifteen emperors were homosexual. During the republic period, Cicero declared without challenge that there is nothing illegal about a man taking another to the country in order to enjoy his erotic sensual pleasures. Although one could easily have sex with his wife at home, a man in the baths, a prostitute in the brothel, and a slave in a dark corner, he would have only been criticized if he were not able to keep everything in its place. The moral issue toward sexuality in general, and homosexuality in particular, revolved around the idea of control for the Romans. One could enjoy any kind of sex, so long as he did not allow himself to be controlled by his partner.
If the wife made demands in response for sex, it would have been disgraceful for a Roman male to give in to her desires. Similarly, if a man was having sex with another man, he could not give that man privileges in return. A major point of difference between the Greeks and early Romans was in their attitude toward education. While the Greeks dismissed the father's responsibility for educating the child, the Romans considered this a primary responsibility of fathers.
The teacher was seen as an extension of the paternal responsibility to train the child. A teacher, therefore, was prohibited from sexual relations with a student, since one would not have sex with his own child, nor would the child have sex with his father. The teacher was viewed as vicariously fulfilling the role of the father. In the sixth century AD the Roman Empire outlawed homosexuality. This was partly due to the influence of other cultures upon the Capitol City, but mostly due to the spread and influence of Christianity. Christianity became the popular religion of the day, and at the same time frequently compromised biblical principles for the purpose of expediency.
Those religions that encouraged both female and male prostitution were also banned from the empire. Although Christian influence brought about this change in legal behavior, not all of the early church adhered to the same kinds of attitudes. According to Boswell, Despite his violent rhetoric against homosexual practices, Saint John Chrysostom himself obviously considered homosexual attraction perfectly normal and constantly juxtaposed homosexual and heterosexual desires as two faces of the same coin. In complaining, for instance, about sinful motivations for entering the temple of the Lord, he mentions in terms of equal likelihood a man's desire to see the beauty of women or of young men who frequent the sanctuaries. (Boswell 1980, 160) Motives for condemning homosexuality were also generally mixed with condemnations of any kind of eroticism in general.
According to this sexual theology the only valid reason for sex was in order to procreate. Sensuality and sexual desire of any kind was viewed as an evil "desire of the flesh. "The duality of humanity, the doctrine that human beings consist of two parts; physical and spiritual, has led many theologians to argue against any kind of sexuality at all, and laid the foundation for a supposed celibate priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The biblical view of humanity's duality does not condemn the body as evil, but as something that can be used for either...
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