Were They Or Weren't They? Patrochilles and 5th century Athens

Gender and sexuality are constructs defined by the society that created them, and there are considerable differences between what ancient Greeks (and later, Romans) believed was queer identity in comparison to our modern ones. It is important to be careful when assigning a modern label or orientation to a person from an ancient culture, and in many cases, it can be dangerous to do so, as it can warp our understanding of the person in question. For example, whereas it is universally known that Sappho transcended heteronormative identity and behavior patterns, people often argue whether Sappho was a lesbian or bisexual, when the reality is that she was simultaneously neither and both, and would not have easily fit into any modern term.

This conflict of identification also existed in ancient times. One of the most obvious examples of this is “Patrochilles,” the relationship between Trojan War veterans Achilles and Patroclus. In Athens during the 5^th century BCE, the prevalent model of same sex relationships was one with an imbalance of power, not of equality. Because they did not understand that Homeric culture would have different concept of the spectrum of gender and sexuality, many Athenians were baffled by the Achilles / Patroclus relationship. This couple did not easily fit into the Athenian model; Patroclus was older of the two, but politically inferior, while Achilles was top-tier socially, but younger than Patroclus. An entire section of Plato’s Symposium was dedicated to the discussion on which of the two was the dominant lover (180a).  Plato’s contemporary, the orator Aeschines, however, argued the opposite. Since the couple did not fit the contemporary model, their relationship must not be romantic, but merely a friendship (In Timarchum 1.142:[Homerus] cum multis locis Patrocli & Achillis meminerit: amorem & Cognomentum amicitiae illorum dissimulat cum insignem illam benevolentiam eruditis auditoribus esse conspicuam existimet, translated into Latin by Jerome Oporinus, 1553). It is clear from this and other contemporary treatments of the Achilles / Patroclus relationship that ancient Athenians struggled with understanding how interpersonal relationships were influenced by the culture they exist in.

One of the ways that LGBT Meets SPQR tries to counteract this difficulty is by using overlapping labels. The blog readily acknowledges that one ancient person or myth might simultaneously fit into multiple conflicting modern identities. Modern labels are provided in the tag section to help sort material into topics of interest, but it is important to remember that ancient people would use their own spectrum and not ours.

M/M: Harmodius & Aristogiton, Sacred Names of Freedom Fighters: Aulus Gellius 9.2.10-11

Name: Aulus Gellius  Date: 125 – 180 CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Athenian Nights 9.2.10-11

Herodes Atticus criticizes a scammer disguised as a philosopher:

“My Athenian ancestors made a law that slaves could never have the name of Harmodius & Aristogiton, the incredibly brave youths who undertook a plot to kill the tyrant Hippias in an attempt to restore liberty to the city.  They thought it was an abomination for the names of those who sacrificed their lives for their country’s freedom should be polluted by being associated with slaves.   So then why are we allowing the noble name of ‘philosopher’ to be made filthy by disgusting scammers?  

Maiores autem mei Athenienses nomina iuvenum fortissimorum Harmodii et Aristogitonis, qui libertatis recuperandae gratia Hippiam tyrannum interficere adorsi erant, ne umquam servis indere liceret decreto publico sanxerunt, quoniam nefas ducerent nomina libertati patriae devota servili contagio pollui. Cur ergo nos patimur nomen philosophiae inlustrissimum in hominibus deterrimis exsordescere?

 Aulus Gellius [125 – 180 CE] lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.

M/M: Love Conquers Evil: Harmodius & Aristogeiton, Max. Tyr. Diss. 8

Harmodius and Aristogeiton

Name: Maximus of Tyre Date:   2nd century CE Region:   Tyre [modern Lebanon] Citation:    Dissertation 18.2.a-e

Harmodius, a Athenian youth had two lovers: Aristogeiton was a citizen  and Hipparchus was a tyrant. Aristogeiton was distinguished for his behavior, and knew his place in life, but Hipparchus was wicked, and abused his position. Harmodius was beautiful and worthy of love, and so he matter-of-factly rejected the tyrant and dated the private citizen. Hipparchus became angry at this fact and, took his anger out on both youths, as well as Harmodius’ sister, whom he dishonored and banned from carrying the sacred baskets at the Panathenian Festival. Immediately Hipparchus paid the penalty for his conduct. The shameful lust of the tyrant, together with Harmodius’ courage, his appropriate love of Aristogeiton, and his love of virtue, were the cause of the liberation of Athens from tyranny.

Μειρακίῳ Ἀττικῷ δύο ἦσαν ἐρασταὶ, ἰδιώτης καὶ τύραννος. ὁ μὲν δίκαιος ἦν διὰ ἰσοτιμίαν, ὁ δὲ ἄδικος δι’ ἐξουσίαν. ἀλλὰ τὸ γε μειράκιον ὄντως ἦν καλὸν καὶ ἐρᾶσθαι ἄξιον. ὥστε ὑπεριδὸν τοῦ τυράννου τὸν ἰδιώτην ἠσπάζετο. ὁ δὲ ὑπ ̓ ὀργῆς, ἄλλα τε ἀμφοτέρους προπηλάκισεν, καὶ ἀδελφὴν Ἀρμοδίου  Παναθηναίοις ἥκουσαν ἐπὶ τὴν πομπὴν κανηφοροῦσαν ἐξήλασεν ἐπ ἀτιμίᾳ. Διδόασι δίκην ἐκ τούτου Πεισιστρατίδαι, καὶ ἦρξεν ἐλευθερίας Ἀθηναίοις ὕβρις τυράννου, καὶ μειρακίου θάρσος καὶ ἔρως δίκαιος καὶ ἐραστοῦ ἀρετή.

Adolescens quidam Atticus, amatores habebat duos, privatum hominem et tyrannum: quorum alter vir probus erat, conditionis suae memor: alter improbus, potentiae fiducia. Sed et adolescens vere pulcher erat, et amore non indignus: quo facilius tyrannum contempsit, privatum hominem amplexus est. Quare succensus ille, praeter alias iniurias, quis utrunque affecit, sororem Harmodii quae Panathenaeorum festo ad gerendum canistrum veniebat, cum ignominia eiecit. Huius facinoris poenam statim Pisistratidae dedere, causaque Atheniensibus libertatis fuit, contumeliosa tyranni libido, adolescentis audacia, probusque amor, et amatoris virtus.  Translated into Latin by Claudius Larjot

Maximus of Tyre [2nd century CE, modern Lebanon] was listed as one of the most influential people in the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’ life. He spent most of his life in scholarly pursuits; his Dissertations were a collection of philosophical treatises based on the works of Plato.

The Courage of Leaena: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 34.19.12

Name: Pliny the Elder Date: 23 – 79 CE Region:  Como [modern Italy]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Natural History, 34.19.12

Many people praise Tisicrates' statue of Leaena. She was a courtesan and entertainer specializing in singing and the lyre who was close with Harmodius and Aristogeiton; she kept secret their plot to kill the tyrant, not betraying their plans even when tortured to the point of  death.  Because of her courage, the Athenians wanted to honor her. Not willing to celebrating her profession, they made a statue of an animal with her same name, i.e., a lioness. To further honor her courage, they made the artist make the statue lacking a tongue.*

* According to tradition, Leaena bit off her own tongue to thwart her interrogators.

Tisicratis Leaena laudatur. [Paelex] haec lyrae cantu familiare Harmodio et Aristogitoni, consilia eorum de tyrannicidio, usque ad mortem excrutiata a tyraniis, non prodidit. Quamobrem Athenienses et honorem habere ei volentes, nec tamen [paelicem] celebrasse, animal nominis eius fecere: atque ut intelligeretur causa honoris, in opere linguam addi ab artifice vetuereunt. 

Pliny the Elder [Gaius Plinius Secundus; 23 – 79 CE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.