I was researching the claim that the acceptance of homosexual lifestyles has historically been the determinant of the downfall of an empire. The Han Dynasty, Greeks and Romans all practiced the homosexual act among men and all eventually fell to an oppressor. While none can of course be specifically connected to the acceptance of homosexuality in society, the reality is none of these empires are still extant.
The research I was reading came from gaystarnews.com of all places and it was utterly fascinating. Here's a link: www.gaystarnews.com/article/truth-about-sexuality-ancient-greece-and-rome261012
In the article it detailed the cultural stigmas and mores that accompanied homosexuality. While widely accepted in Greco-Roman times, there were some unexpected and somewhat surprising social constructs.
Among them, adult males were never to allow themselves to be penetrated by a younger male or slave. Homosexuality was widely accepted for both genders prior to puberty, and then the males were expected to become married and have wives and procreate. In this society, depilatories were created to try and convince male lovers that they were in fact younger than they were so as the relationship could continue. Yet the cultural ideal remained: older males were always to be the "males" of the relationship.
The term "pathetic" is Latin in origin. It was used to describe the status of the male (younger, lower caste, sex slave) who was being penetrated. A male being penetrated was "pathetic".
This photograph on the right uses every single intonation of the word "pathetic".
