Homosexual Subculture in Classical Athens: An Analysis of Unconventional Same-sex Relationships in the Speech of Lysias Against Simon

Abstract

The genre of Athenian forensic oratory is valuable evidence for evaluating Greek society’s perception of men involved in long-standing homosexual relationships. A close examination of such relationships reveals that some citizen status males dispensed with the obligation of marriage and formed an enduring companionship with a socially marginalized man. Much of the scholarship on Greek homosexuality, however, ignores the role of subaltern groups in same-sex relationships and denies the existence of homosexual practices beyond the codified structures of the well-known pederastic relationship model. Applying a multidisciplinary lens to Lysias’ speech Against Simon, this MRP considers how its narrative on same-sex desire, relationships, shame, and masculinity reveals a complex and diverse image of Greek homosexuality. By focusing on the participation of a subaltern man, I argue that a homosexual identity and subculture existed in classical Athens.