Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

172 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
the abuse that was heaped upon such effeminates (as they were
regarded) in the plays of Aristophanes. The most famous homoerotic
relationship in Greek legend is that of Achilles and Patroklos, although
Homer in The Iliad , for whatever reason, scrupulously avoids suggesting
that it has a sexual basis. It is interesting to note that depictions
of homosexual acts on vases are remarkably restrained. Anal
and oral intercourse is practically never shown, although they both
appear frequently on vases in a heterosexual context.
Male Prostitution
Male prostitution, though regarded with severe disfavor, was an
ineradicable feature of Greek society. Athenians over the age of 18
who became prostitutes were debarred from holding any executive
or religious office and from addressing the assembly or council,
although the law stopped short of depriving them of their citizenship.
If a boy under the age of 18 engaged in prostitution, his father
or legal guardian was liable for prosecution. As further punishment
for the father, the boy in question was also released from the obligation
to support him in old age, as the law otherwise enjoined on
sons ( Aischines , Against Timarchos 13–14).
Adultery and Rape
The penalty for adultery was much more severe than for rape.
That is because rape was regarded as “merely” an act of violence,
whereas adultery involved the transfer of a woman’s affections and
in so doing made it difficult to determine whether her offspring was
legitimate. Whereas rapists were only required to pay recompense
to the husband, convicted adulterers faced the death penalty. If an
Athenian husband discovered his wife in bed with her lover, he
was permitted to take the lover’s life with impunity. The husband
of an adulterous woman was required by law to divorce his wife. If
he failed to do so, he could be deprived of his citizenship. Adulterous
women were not permitted to attend religious rites conducted
by the citizen body. If they disobeyed, the public was free to do to
them any form of violence short of killing them.
Pornography
Pornography, a made-up word of Greek root that literally means
“the writing about or the painting of whores or pornai, ” was not