Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

Giton, Pederasty and Epic Self-Perception 51
Encolpius’ tendency to equate sexual potency with classical literature
becomes even clearer in the early Eumolpus episodes. Having recovered the
snatched Giton only minutes before, Encolpius welcomes as a dinner guest
Eumolpus, who, upon arrival, offers the following ill-omened praise of Giton: “I
praise this Ganymede. Today will inevitably be well”(Ch. 82, sec. 3). Encolpius
objects to the greeting ostensibly on the grounds that he fears a reoccurrence of
the quarrel with Ascyltos. And while it is certainly not to be doubted that
Encolpius fears the possibility of another kidnapping, the significance of this
passage lies in the mythical framework in which it is presented. Indeed one
might expect Encolpius to parry Eumolpus’ quip with a brief discourse on the
myth of the rape of Ganymede, thus picking up the reference of the latter and
expanding it into an expression of his fear in classical terms. But given
Encolpius’ habit of conglomerating mythical roles with sexual potency, the
refusal to frame the narrative mythically (at first a seemingly drastic oversight)
corroborates this facet of his personality. Because Encolpius associates his
ability to appropriate myth with his control over, and sexual enjoyment in,
Giton, this problematic greeting should be viewed as an assault, every bit as
important as those made by the soldier and his own physical limpidity, on his
ability to simultaneously control his mythic imagination and his virility, of
which sexual control over Giton is the primary source. By his immediate
assumption of the role of the rapacious Zeus, Eumolpus not only challenges this
sexual control but he also usurps the mythological authority on which it is
founded.
Not to be outdone, Encolpius quickly finds the opportunity to reassert his
control over both Giton and classical allusion. When Ascyltos brings a policeman
to search Encolpius’ quarters for Giton, Encolpius commands him “to go
quickly under the bed and hook his hands and feet onto the straps, as once Odysseus
clung to the ram,” then notes that Giton “outdid Odysseus by like cunning”
(Ch. 97, sec. 4-6). Not only does this further expose Encolpius’ tendencies, but it
also clarifies the occasions on which he makes use of them. In this episode he
struggles to retain Giton, who is reduced, by the contention of the three suitors,
to a mere sexual device; that he hides within the bed nicely completes the metaphor.
As the novel nears its conclusion, a final incident confirms the link
between Encolpius’ classical centricity and Giton’s erotic and androgynous
beauty. In a fragment presumably preceded by a lament of impotence by Encolpius,
Giton unleashes a singularly self-aware and bitingly sarcastic consolation:
“Therefore I give you thanks on this account, because you love me with Socratic
honesty. Not as untouched laid Aclibiades in the very bed of his teacher” (Ch.
128, sec. 7).
While this appears at first to be nothing more than a harmless zinger
between lovers, a careful reading sensitive to the correlation between classical
referencing and pederasty proves it to be a truly loaded statement. On the purely
literal level this barb hits its mark in mocking Encolpius’ sexual flaccidity.