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Not to be confused with Philhellenism, or Greek words for love

In the history of sexuality, Greek love is a concept of homoeroticism within the classical tradition. It is one of the "classically inspired erotic imaginings" by means of which later cultures have articulated their own discourse about homosexuality. The metaphor of "Greek love" becomes most vivid historically in periods when the reception of classical antiquity is an important influence on dominant aesthetic or intellectual movements.

Terminology

As a term of Modern English and other modern European languages, "Greek love" refers to various (mostly homoerotic) practices as part of the part of the Hellenic heritage of European civilization; Quotation marks are often placed on either or both words, i.e., "Greek" love, Greek "love" or "Greek love". It should not be understood as referring to historical homosexual practices in ancient Greece, but to the conceptualizing of those practices among other cultures.

The term "griechische Liebe" ("Greek love") is documented as existing in German writings between 1750 and 1850 along with such terms as "socratische Liebe" (Socratic Love) and "platonische Liebe" (Platonic love), which were designated for male-male attractions.

The English term "Greek love" has sometimes been used to signify the original English use of "Platonic love", that of a male-male sexual attraction made respectable by referring to antiquity. Greece became a reference point by homosexual men of a specific class and education. The first English use of the phrase dates to 1636 with "Platonic Lovers" by Sir William Davenant. The latter phrase was derived from the writings of Marsilio Ficino who coined the terms amor Socraticus.

Ancient Rome

In Latin, mos Graeciae or mos Graecorum ("Greek custom" or "the way of the Greeks") refers to a variety of behaviors the ancient Romans regarded as Greek, and not to any specific sexual practice. Effeminacy or a lack of discipline in managing one's sexual attraction to another male was considered non-Roman and thus might be disparaged as "Eastern" or "Greek." The Hellenization of elite culture, however, influenced sexual attitudes as a kind of luxury import: within Roman literary culture, Ramsay MacMullen has noted, "homosexuality was for the rich." No assumptions can be made about any effect on sexual behavior; rather, the elevation of Greek literature and art as models of expression caused homoeroticism to be regarded as urbane and sophisticated. At the close of the 2nd century BC, the consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus was among a circle of poets who made short, light Hellenistic poems fashionable at Rome. One of his few surviving fragments is a poem of desire addressed to a male with a Greek name, signaling a new aesthetic in Roman culture.

The subject of Eros, and the traditions of male contact were repeated in many of the Roman sculptures described by Johann Winckelmann in a three volume set of books.

Renaissance

The term "Greek love" has been used interchangeably with other similar phrases, such as "Platonic love" and "Socratic Love", (derived from Marsilio Ficino's term "amor platonicus" from his translations of the Symposium). The meaning of the individual terms has drifted over time. Male same-sex relationships of the kind portrayed by the "Greek love" ideal were increasingly disallowed within the Judaeo-Christian traditions of Western society. The earliest reference to the modern ideology is from that of Marsilio Ficino after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. In his comments of Plato's work in 1469, Ficino describes "amor socraticus", however it must be said that Ficino, influenced by the church doctrine attempted to water down its meaning and concept and concluded that the male love was allegorical. In his commentary to the Symposium, Ficino carefully separates the act of sodomy, which he condemned, and lauded Socratic love as the highest form of friendship. He believed that men could use each other's beauty and friendship to discover the greatest good, that is, God. Ficino Christianised the theory of love presented by Socrates.

During the Renaissance, artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo discovered Plato and used his philosophy as artistic muse for inspiration for their greatest works. The "rediscovery" of classical antiquity was perceived as a liberating experience. Greek love was an ideal love in its essence, after the platonic pattern. Michelangelo presented himself to the public as a Platonic lover of men in 16th century Italy. His art combined and alternated between catholic orthodoxy and pagan enthusiasm in many of his works. The sculpted likeness of a local saint, Proculus and his first great masterpiece, Bacchus illustrate this. Michelangelo's next two pieces, Pieta and The David, pay respect to his faith and Eros. In later revivals these works were drawn on as further inspiration.

The introduction of the concept in English literature also originates in the Renaissance, with the poet and playwright William Davenant's reference to "Platonic Lovers" in 1636.

Neoclassicism

The 18th century artists of the time of Winckelmann, would, at times produce art, representing ancient society and Greek love in their Neoclassical work. Jacques-Louis David's "Death of Socrates" is meant to be a "Greek" painting, imbued with an appreciation of "Greek love". Socrates is a tribute and documentation of leisured, disinterested, masculine fellowship.

See also

• Eros
• Homosexuality in Ancient Greece

References

1. Alastair J.L. Blanshard, Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), pp. xi and 91–92 et passim.
2. ^ Williams, Craig Arthur (June 10, 1999). Roman homosexuality. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 72. ISBN 9780195113006.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
3. Taddeo, Julie Anne (July 18, 2002). Lytton Strachey and the search for modern sexual identity. Routledge; 1 edition. pp. 21. ISBN 978-1560233596.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
4. Gustafson, Susan E. (June 2002). Men desiring men. Wayne State University Press. pp. +Platonic+love, +Socratic+love+refer+to&lr=&ei=ZoxBSr_SCo6QkAT92_D1Dg=24. ISBN 978-0814330296.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
5. Petrilli, Susan (November 14, 2003). Translation, translation. Rodopi. pp. 623. ISBN 978-9042009479.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
6. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911). The Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. pp. 825. ISBN 978-1593392925.
7. Ramsay MacMullen, "Roman Attitudes to Greek Love," Historia 31.4 (1982) 484–502, especially pp. 498.
8. Edward Courtney, The Fragmentary Latin Poets (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), p. 75.
9. Verstraete, Provencal, Beert C., Vernon (February 13, 2006). Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West. Routledge; 1 edition. pp. 15. ISBN 978-1560236047.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
10. Crompton, Louis: Homosexuality and Civilization, First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 2006 pp.(, 411 & passim)ISBN 978-0674022331
11. Fone, Byrne R. S. (May 15, 1998). The Columbia anthology of gay literature. Columbia University Press. pp. 131. ISBN 978-0231096706.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
12. Aldrich, Robert (November 15, 1993). The seduction of the Mediterranean. Routledge; 1 edition. pp. +Platonic+love, +socratic+love+Michelangelo+Art&lr== 38. ISBN 978-0415093125.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
13. Taylor, Rachel Annand (March 15, 2007). Leonardo the Florentine - A Study in Personality. Kiefer Press. pp. +Platonic+love, +Socratic+love+Michelangelo&lr== 483. ISBN 978-1406729276.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
14. Crompton, Louis (October 31, 2006). Homosexuality and civilization. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. +Platonic+love, +socratic+love+Michelangelo+Art&lr== 270. ISBN 978-0674022331.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
15. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911). The Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. pp. 825. ISBN 978-1593392925.
16. Aldrich, Robert (November 15, 1993). The seduction of the Mediterranean. Routledge; 1 edition. pp. 136. ISBN 978-0415093125.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
17. Crow, Thomas E. (June 20, 2006). Emulation. Yale University Press; Revised edition. pp. 99. ISBN 978-0300117394.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

Bibliography

• Crompton, Louis (1998). Byron and Greek Love. London: GMP. ISBN 9780854492633.
• Crompton, Louis (2003). Homosexuality & Civilization. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674022331.
• Fone, Byrne (1998). The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231096706.
• Haggerty, George (1999). Men in Love. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231110433.
• Kuzniar, Alice (1996). Outing Goethe & His Age. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804726153.
• Posner, Richard (1992). Sex and Reason. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674802803.
• Symonds, John (2007). A Problem in Greek Ethics: Paiderastia. City: Forgotten Books. ISBN 9781605063898.
• Taddeo, Julie Anne (2002). Lytton Strachey and the Search for Modern Sexual Identity: the Last Eminent Victorian. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781560233596.
• Tamagne, Florence (2004). History of Homosexuality in Europe, 1919-1939. New York: Algora Publishing. ISBN 9780875863566.
• Williams, Craig (1999). Roman Homosexuality. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195113006.

Further reading

• Davidson, James (2007). The Greeks and Greek Love: A Radical Reappraisal of Homosexuality in Ancient Greece. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375505164.
• Maccarthy, Fiona (2004). Byron: Life and Legend. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374529307.
• Blanshard, Alastair J. L. (2010). Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity. Classical Receptions. Vol. 5. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 1405122919.

• Love
• Sex