Greek god of gayness

Half man. Zeus While a famous philanderer who sired countless demigods by every peasant girl in need of an explanation to her parents, Zeus famously selected the young mortal Ganymede to serve as his cupbearer on Mount Olympus.

Half goat. Narcissus A figure mostly known for his obsessive vanity, this son of a nymph and a river god would spend his last days gazing at his own reflection, but the first man he showed affection for was not himself.

A myth traced in origin to the Boeotia region mentions a relationship between Narcissus and the smitten Ameinias, whom Narcissus would eventually grow tired of before sending him a sword as a kiss-off. Pan frequently was depicted in sculpture chasing both women and men around with his always-erect penis and oversized scrotum.

Other myths also disclose Achilles was struck by the beauty of Troilus, a Trojan prince. Above: Chrysippus, kidnapped by Laius, looks for his father Pelops running behind the chariot; Volute Krater image [ B. Hermes The wing-heeled messenger of the gods was said in multiple myths to have male lovers.

Male lovers of the god included the satyr Ampelos and the famously handsome Adonis. The relationship provided the foundation of the custom of paiderastia, the practice of Greek men at the time maintaining erotic relationships with adolescent boys on the side.

Some myths suggest a romantic relationship between Hermes and the hero Perseus. Above: Jean-George Vibert, Narcissus. Apollo The sun god, one of the most important in all literature, was also quite the libertine.

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Chrysippus Euripedes wrote that this divine Peloponnesian hero was on the way to compete in the Nemean Games when his Theban tutor Laius ran off with him and raped him. Ameinias, desperately depressed over the rejection, killed himself. Besides dalliances with numerous nymphs, Apollo was also lover to Macedonian Prince Hyakinthos, who died catching a thrown discus, then turned by the god into the hyacinth flower.

Pan Of course, many mythological texts and artworks connect Daphnis to the satyr Pan, god of music. The Pseudo-Apollodorus also said Apollo had been with Thracian singer Thamyris in the first man-on-man relationship in history. Male lovers in the Trojan War?

While Homer never explicitly states a gay relationship between Achilles and sidekick Patroclus, many scholars read a romantic connection between the two, as only Patroclus ever drew out a compassionate side to the famously arrogant warrior.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. A gay cupbearer on Mount Olympus? Sexual relationships between adult men did exist, though it is possible at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role.

Above: Rossi Domenico, Pan and Apollo circaengraving. Well – thanks to both classical legend and the works of famous Greek poet Sappho, Aphrodite is known as the patron goddess of lesbians, and is said to have taken on many female lovers herself, following after the rest of her kin in maintaining a largely bisexual approach to intimacy.

Above: Zeus and Ganymede, artist and date unknown. Best known as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus was also the god of intersex and transgender people. Above: Alexander Kiselev, Apollo and Hyacinth []. Size queen. The incident drew a curse upon the city of Thebes.

And for those who think same-sex nuptials are a 21st-century invention, Apollo also was in a relationship with Hymen, the god of marriage.