Current Events > Historians be like:

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"Roman emperor Iamegayius had a large incription written "I LOVE MEN". His sexuality remains a mystery to this day"

Not really. Hadrian is largely viewed as extremely gay, in so far as you want to apply a modern term like that to the ancient world.I imagine his wall was super gay as well. Rainbows everywhere.

and they were roommates

Are you talking about Alexander?

Anyway, what I think is funny is when they call everything they don't actually know the purpose of "probably religious."

SSJKirby posted...

and they were roommates

"Really close friends."

cousinvini posted...

"Roman emperor Iamegayius had a large incription written "I LOVE MEN". His sexuality remains a mystery to this day"

You have to remember that history is political and contemporary historians can be petty. It could have been as simple as the next emperor rewriting history to slander the previous one in hopes that later generations will take it at face value. He might have ordered Iamegayius's tomb defaced with the inscription and mandated that anyone who disputes that Iamegayius ordered the inscription himself be put to death for spreading lies.

Ancient Egyptian pharaohs were really fond of this stunt and archeologists have had to change their positions when new evidence is discovered that calls out the hatchet job. Look what happened to the female pharaoh Hatshepsut.

The problem is that sexuality in the past doesn't neatly map to modern sexuality.

For example, most of what we hear about homosexual relationship between males in the ancient world comes from the practice of pederasty among rich men and rich young boys up to a certain age, usually before they're bearded which in a Greek and Roman context means they're adults. This was a mentor relationship that was also sexual in nature.

When the boy became of age these sorts of relationships were meant to end and if they persisted it was looked down as being a weird, but not unheard of. Indeed one of the accusations hurled at Philip from a contemporary Greek writing about Philip II of Macedon's court, and trying to frame it as a den of immorality, was that bearded (adult men in Greek context) men were having relationships with one another. But we have to remember that most of understanding of homosexual relationships come from rich citizen men who often time were more concerned with moralizing the behavior of other male citizens and they looked down on citizen men who took on what they considered to be an effeminate role, that is one who is the receiver.

A while back Alex the Third came into the spotlight due to his portrayal in some documentary as a gay man. Now as I said even saying Alexander was gay is a little problematic and even recorded parts of his life like taking the former eunuch of the Persian king, Bagoas, as a lover can be problematic due to the Roman and Greek trope of portraying Alexander as a Persian tyrant. However there is proof that in Macedonian elite culture that same-sex relationships between adult men were normal unlike Greek and Roman elite culture where same-sex relationships between bearded men were seen as abnormal.

SSJKirby posted...

and they were roommates

oh my god they were roommates

Yeah but gay meant hay back then.

They knew each other, biblically.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/19e076a0.jpg

SSJKirby posted...

and they were roommates

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/6fefb7d2.jpg

cousinvini posted...

"Roman emperor Iamegayius had a large incription written "I LOVE MEN". His sexuality remains a mystery to this day"

Which historian?

I found the passage by the Greek historian Theopompus, a contemporary of Philip II of Macedon, which was preserved by Polybios:

Apart from other things, he has ventured to write as follows. I set down the passage in his own words: 6 "Philip's court in Macedonia was the gathering-place of all the most debauched and brazen-faced characters in Greece or abroad, who were there styled the king's companions. 7 For Philip in general showed no favour to men of good repute who were careful of their property, but those he honoured and promoted were spendthrifts who passed their time drinking and gambling. 8 In consequence he not only encouraged them in their vices, but made them past masters in every kind of wickedness and lewdness. 9 Was there anything indeed disgraceful and shocking that they did not practise, and was there anything good and creditable that they did not leave undone? Some of them used to shave their bodies and make them smooth although they were men, and others actually practised lewdness with each other though bearded. 10 While carrying about two or three minions with them they served others in the same capacity, so that we would be justified in calling them not courtiers but courtesans and not soldiers but strumpets. 12 For being by nature man-slayers they became by their practices man-whores. 13 In a word," he continues, "not to be prolix, and especially as I am beset by such a deluge of other matters, my opinion is that those who were called Philip's friends and companions were worse brutes and of a more beastly disposition than the Centaurs who established themselves on Pelion, or those Laestrygones who dwelt in the plain of Leontini, or any other monsters."

Theopompus clearly wrote that passage to a Greek audience in mind to showcase how degenerate the court of Philip II of Macedon was. In his mind the act of grown men (bearded) having sexual relationships with one another was perverse. In other words outside of pederastic relationships between a grown man and a boy same-sex relationships between two adult men were looked as being weird and abnormal in Greek society while in Macedonia it might have been normal for adult men to engage in same-sex relationships given some of the evidence we have.

Ye, it's pretty well known that man-boy sexual relationships in Rome were viewed pretty differently in that man-man was not good while man-boy was. It was all about some sort of weird balance of power in that a man should never be submissive, and that by default someone would be the sub in sex.

They even got a passage thrown in the bible when the new testament was being done.

Ancient Greeks really weirdly pederast though. Like they seemed to culturally find teen boys more attractive than women. Or at least on an equal level.