Sexual life in ancient Greece : with thirty-two full-page plates

History OF GREEK LOVE

from abuse during their minority. Another law deprived those of their civic rights who incited free boys to offer their charms for sale professionally ; for prostitution has nothing to do with pedophilia, of which we are speaking here, and in which we must rather think always only of a voluntary relationship that is based upon mutual affection.

Further, these laws of Solon only affected Athenian full citizens, while the great mass of Xenoi, that is, non-Athenian immigrants, had complete freedom in this matter. ‘Thereby the efficiency of these laws early became questionable ; even the severity } of the punishments cannot have acted too much as a deterrent, since the 7po¢aas ¢idtas always was a way out, that is, the protestation that it was done “‘ out of affection”; and of course youths certainly often chose the momentary advantage, without troubling about the loss of civic privileges that eventually threatened them in the distant future. But that these laws were not meant to strike at pederastia itself, indeed not even at its organization and use as a profession, is shown by the fact that the State itself levied a tax on those who put boys and youths at the disposal of lovers, as well as on the public women’s houses (ZEschines, Tim., 119).

Diogenes Laértius (Xen., Mem., ui, 6, 28) says that Socrates, when a boy, had been the favourite of his teacher Archelaus, which is confirmed by

1 Strikingly severe, for instance, is the punishment of death for an unauthorized person who sneaks into a boy’s school (AEschines, Timarchus, 12). The law further says: “‘ And the owners of gymnasia shall not allow anyone beyond the age of boys to sneak in with them at the feasts of Hermes ; otherwise he is to be punished according to the law concerning the violation of the body.” That this law which impresses us as quite barbarous can only have existed on paper, is sufficiently proved by the well-known custom of the Greeks, according to which they spent a great part of the day in the gymnasia and palestre in gossiping. The law also concerned entering the gymnasia at definite times, e.g. the dissolute festivals of Hermes. To explain the prohibition mentioned by ZEschines the Scholiast observes that: “In the inner part of the house at schools and palzstra there were columns and chapels, with altars to the Muses, Hermes, and Heracles. There was also drinking water there, but many boys under pretence of drinking, came in and practised immorality.”

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