Institutionalized pederasty is an ancient Greek terminology which was used to refer to the homosexual relationship between a pubescent and adult male individual. The inscriptions and physical bodies of male individuals in the Theognidea are representative of a pederastic association. For instance, in the red-figure kylix c.500-450 BC, once can observe an older male individual holding out a bag in a bid to hand it out to an outstretched hand of a younger individual ( Skinner, 2013 ). The contents of this bag have been depicted as either knuckle bones or money. The people who are in favor of exploitive readings prefer to view them as containing money ( Skinner, 2013 ). On the contrary, those who are absorbed in romanticism choose to depict them as bearing gifts. They are representative of an erotic relationship existent between both male figures, which is ideally pederasty.
Pederasty was practiced in Greek tradition since it was viewed as an institution which encouraged and promoted teachings pertaining to the cultural and moral values required to be exhibited especially among the young individuals. Secondly, the dominant male was the older one with a significant age gap such that they would act responsibly by educating young males regarding aspects such as politics, social gatherings and the military ( Skinner, 2013 ). This male figure was referred to as the erastes while the less dominant individual was the eromenos. In this case, the erastes would act as a teacher to the eromenos more than they would engage in sexual activities.
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One of the ideal examples of a pederastic relationship was the one between Harmodius and Aristogeiton. In Greek tradition, this appeared to be the most ideal example of pederasty. When Aristogeiton learnt that the ruler`s brother Hipparchus was making advances at Harmodius, he immediately started planning to overthrow him ( Lear & Cantarella, 2008 ). Both Harmodius and Aristogeiton even planned to kill Hipparchus which they did, though this also led to their deaths. Moreover, another example pertains to Zeus` relationship with Ganymede a young boy who appealed to him to an extent that he made him immortal.
References
Lear, A. and Cantarella, E. (2008) Images ef Andent Greek Pederasty: Boys Were Their Gods. New York: Routledge.
Skinner, M. B. (2013). Sexuality in Greek and Roman culture . Brooklyn. John Wiley & Sons.
