#ancientsexuality — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ancientsexuality, aggregated by home.social.
-
Spencer's translation below seems pretty accurate to me...
From: Was #Sappho Really a Lesbian?
by Spencer McDaniel
Posted on August 14, 2021"Ancient versus modern concepts of sexuality
"Before we delve into the issue of Sappho’s sexuality, I feel that it is important to discuss the differences between ancient and modern concepts of sexuality. Generally speaking, most people living in the English-speaking world in the twenty-first century tend to assume that each person has an innate sexual orientation that remains fixed throughout their life and is a defining aspect of their identity. In other words, each person is inherently 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' or something else.
"The ancient Greeks, however, generally did not think about sexuality in these sorts of terms. In fact, there are no words in Ancient Greek that are equivalent to the English words 'straight,' 'gay,' or 'bi.'
"The ancient Greeks did, of course, recognize that most people have some degree of preference for sexual partners of a certain gender. Unlike modern people, however, they did not generally see these preferences as being written in stone and they did not usually regard a person’s sexual preference as a fixed, innate part of their identity. An anonymous ancient poem in the Greek language that is preserved in the Greek Anthology 5.65 illustrates this ambivalence quite succinctly:
“Αἰετὸς ὁ Ζεὺς ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀντίθεον Γανυμήδην,
κύκνος ἐπὶ ξανθὴν μητέρα τὴν Ἑλένης.
οὕτως ἀμφότερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀσύγκριτα· τῶν δύο δ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἄλλοις ἄλλο δοκεῖ κρεῖσσον, ἐμοὶ τὰ δύο.”"This means, in my own translation:
“As an eagle Zeus came to godlike Ganymedes
and as a swan to the tawny-haired mother of Helene.
In this manner, the two [passions] are incomparable. Of the two,
one seems better to some; for me, both are good.”Read more:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/08/14/was-sappho-really-a-lesbian/#GayHistory #AncientWomen
#AncientHistory #AncientSexuality #AncientGreece #Histodon #Classics #AncientGreek #Poetry -
Spencer's translation below seems pretty accurate to me...
From: Was #Sappho Really a Lesbian?
by Spencer McDaniel
Posted on August 14, 2021"Ancient versus modern concepts of sexuality
"Before we delve into the issue of Sappho’s sexuality, I feel that it is important to discuss the differences between ancient and modern concepts of sexuality. Generally speaking, most people living in the English-speaking world in the twenty-first century tend to assume that each person has an innate sexual orientation that remains fixed throughout their life and is a defining aspect of their identity. In other words, each person is inherently 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' or something else.
"The ancient Greeks, however, generally did not think about sexuality in these sorts of terms. In fact, there are no words in Ancient Greek that are equivalent to the English words 'straight,' 'gay,' or 'bi.'
"The ancient Greeks did, of course, recognize that most people have some degree of preference for sexual partners of a certain gender. Unlike modern people, however, they did not generally see these preferences as being written in stone and they did not usually regard a person’s sexual preference as a fixed, innate part of their identity. An anonymous ancient poem in the Greek language that is preserved in the Greek Anthology 5.65 illustrates this ambivalence quite succinctly:
“Αἰετὸς ὁ Ζεὺς ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀντίθεον Γανυμήδην,
κύκνος ἐπὶ ξανθὴν μητέρα τὴν Ἑλένης.
οὕτως ἀμφότερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀσύγκριτα· τῶν δύο δ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἄλλοις ἄλλο δοκεῖ κρεῖσσον, ἐμοὶ τὰ δύο.”"This means, in my own translation:
“As an eagle Zeus came to godlike Ganymedes
and as a swan to the tawny-haired mother of Helene.
In this manner, the two [passions] are incomparable. Of the two,
one seems better to some; for me, both are good.”Read more:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/08/14/was-sappho-really-a-lesbian/#GayHistory #AncientWomen
#AncientHistory #AncientSexuality #AncientGreece #Histodon #Classics #AncientGreek #Poetry -
Spencer's translation below seems pretty accurate to me...
From: Was #Sappho Really a Lesbian?
by Spencer McDaniel
Posted on August 14, 2021"Ancient versus modern concepts of sexuality
"Before we delve into the issue of Sappho’s sexuality, I feel that it is important to discuss the differences between ancient and modern concepts of sexuality. Generally speaking, most people living in the English-speaking world in the twenty-first century tend to assume that each person has an innate sexual orientation that remains fixed throughout their life and is a defining aspect of their identity. In other words, each person is inherently 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' or something else.
"The ancient Greeks, however, generally did not think about sexuality in these sorts of terms. In fact, there are no words in Ancient Greek that are equivalent to the English words 'straight,' 'gay,' or 'bi.'
"The ancient Greeks did, of course, recognize that most people have some degree of preference for sexual partners of a certain gender. Unlike modern people, however, they did not generally see these preferences as being written in stone and they did not usually regard a person’s sexual preference as a fixed, innate part of their identity. An anonymous ancient poem in the Greek language that is preserved in the Greek Anthology 5.65 illustrates this ambivalence quite succinctly:
“Αἰετὸς ὁ Ζεὺς ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀντίθεον Γανυμήδην,
κύκνος ἐπὶ ξανθὴν μητέρα τὴν Ἑλένης.
οὕτως ἀμφότερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀσύγκριτα· τῶν δύο δ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἄλλοις ἄλλο δοκεῖ κρεῖσσον, ἐμοὶ τὰ δύο.”"This means, in my own translation:
“As an eagle Zeus came to godlike Ganymedes
and as a swan to the tawny-haired mother of Helene.
In this manner, the two [passions] are incomparable. Of the two,
one seems better to some; for me, both are good.”Read more:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/08/14/was-sappho-really-a-lesbian/#GayHistory #AncientWomen
#AncientHistory #AncientSexuality #AncientGreece #Histodon #Classics #AncientGreek #Poetry -
Spencer's translation below seems pretty accurate to me...
From: Was #Sappho Really a Lesbian?
by Spencer McDaniel
Posted on August 14, 2021"Ancient versus modern concepts of sexuality
"Before we delve into the issue of Sappho’s sexuality, I feel that it is important to discuss the differences between ancient and modern concepts of sexuality. Generally speaking, most people living in the English-speaking world in the twenty-first century tend to assume that each person has an innate sexual orientation that remains fixed throughout their life and is a defining aspect of their identity. In other words, each person is inherently 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' or something else.
"The ancient Greeks, however, generally did not think about sexuality in these sorts of terms. In fact, there are no words in Ancient Greek that are equivalent to the English words 'straight,' 'gay,' or 'bi.'
"The ancient Greeks did, of course, recognize that most people have some degree of preference for sexual partners of a certain gender. Unlike modern people, however, they did not generally see these preferences as being written in stone and they did not usually regard a person’s sexual preference as a fixed, innate part of their identity. An anonymous ancient poem in the Greek language that is preserved in the Greek Anthology 5.65 illustrates this ambivalence quite succinctly:
“Αἰετὸς ὁ Ζεὺς ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀντίθεον Γανυμήδην,
κύκνος ἐπὶ ξανθὴν μητέρα τὴν Ἑλένης.
οὕτως ἀμφότερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀσύγκριτα· τῶν δύο δ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἄλλοις ἄλλο δοκεῖ κρεῖσσον, ἐμοὶ τὰ δύο.”"This means, in my own translation:
“As an eagle Zeus came to godlike Ganymedes
and as a swan to the tawny-haired mother of Helene.
In this manner, the two [passions] are incomparable. Of the two,
one seems better to some; for me, both are good.”Read more:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/08/14/was-sappho-really-a-lesbian/#GayHistory #AncientWomen
#AncientHistory #AncientSexuality #AncientGreece #Histodon #Classics #AncientGreek #Poetry -
Spencer's translation below seems pretty accurate to me...
From: Was #Sappho Really a Lesbian?
by Spencer McDaniel
Posted on August 14, 2021"Ancient versus modern concepts of sexuality
"Before we delve into the issue of Sappho’s sexuality, I feel that it is important to discuss the differences between ancient and modern concepts of sexuality. Generally speaking, most people living in the English-speaking world in the twenty-first century tend to assume that each person has an innate sexual orientation that remains fixed throughout their life and is a defining aspect of their identity. In other words, each person is inherently 'straight,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' or something else.
"The ancient Greeks, however, generally did not think about sexuality in these sorts of terms. In fact, there are no words in Ancient Greek that are equivalent to the English words 'straight,' 'gay,' or 'bi.'
"The ancient Greeks did, of course, recognize that most people have some degree of preference for sexual partners of a certain gender. Unlike modern people, however, they did not generally see these preferences as being written in stone and they did not usually regard a person’s sexual preference as a fixed, innate part of their identity. An anonymous ancient poem in the Greek language that is preserved in the Greek Anthology 5.65 illustrates this ambivalence quite succinctly:
“Αἰετὸς ὁ Ζεὺς ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἀντίθεον Γανυμήδην,
κύκνος ἐπὶ ξανθὴν μητέρα τὴν Ἑλένης.
οὕτως ἀμφότερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀσύγκριτα· τῶν δύο δ᾽ αὐτῶν
ἄλλοις ἄλλο δοκεῖ κρεῖσσον, ἐμοὶ τὰ δύο.”"This means, in my own translation:
“As an eagle Zeus came to godlike Ganymedes
and as a swan to the tawny-haired mother of Helene.
In this manner, the two [passions] are incomparable. Of the two,
one seems better to some; for me, both are good.”Read more:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/08/14/was-sappho-really-a-lesbian/#GayHistory #AncientWomen
#AncientHistory #AncientSexuality #AncientGreece #Histodon #Classics #AncientGreek #Poetry