Homosexuality in the ancient world: The most overrated "issue" ever.
Pedophilia in Sparta
did exist, but contrary to common belief, it was not endorsed by society. I'll spare you a rundown of a male Spartan's (better said Spartiate) education, but it is important to know that a Spartiate was educated entirely for the sole purpose of serving the community (and hence, the state). Since the Spartans believed in military power as the only way of preserving their independence and identity, the Spartiate was specifically trained in military fields, and spent his life from age seven to age forty in the barracks.
In his teenage years (from age 14 to 18), an elder man was assigned to be his
erástes. The Spartiate became his
erónemos. Although the relation to "eros" can clearly be seen in these two words, the
erástes was first and foremost a tutor. He became something like a fatherly friend, teaching him and guiding him through various situations. The bond was tight, and a certain "love"-relationship certainly existed; though it must be noted that the ancient Greeks had a somewhat broader definition of "love" and were not ashamed to say they "loved" good friends. I
believe it was Plutarch in his
Vita Lycurgos (though it might have been Xenophon in his
Lakedaimon Politeia) who mentioned that the fact that these tutors saw their pupils naked all day caused them to develop erotic feelings towards them. If an erotic relationship would develop, it was usually tolerated as a sort of "human weakness"-thing, but at no point was it ever endorsed.
As a matter of fact, Spartan social rules aimed to strengthen the emotional and erotic bond between man and woman by what would seem now as paradox methods. A man was given the feeling that loving his wife and craving to see her was something bad and out-of-the-ordinary, but this element of "forbidden" love furthered the man's desire to see his wife and get intimate with her. Usually, the man would sneak out of his barracks at night time, see and make love to his wife and sneak back to the barracks afterwards, hoping nobody noticed. Plutarch mentions that sometimes, a man would already have fathered several children without having ever seen his wife at daylight.
Homosexuality was encouraged and even organised in Sparta because in the case of men, it meant a greater bond between them, which ensured a bigger degree of valour and effort in battle(Spartans were of course primarily concerned with war and maximizing the performance of their soldiers in it)
This was the case in Thebes, where Epaminondas insisted the members of his "Sacred Band" (a Theban elite unit) develop relationships so they would do everything to save their lover on the battlefield. I recall reading somewhere that this strategy was considered something special in Greece (and, of course, the main reason for Thebes' military success).
