Author: Sharon Bell
Homosexuality refers to shared intimacies between members of the same sex. The word comes from the Greek homo which means “identical.”
Female homosexuality is called lesbianism and is named after the Greek island of Lesbos. It was on Lesbos where Sappho, a poet and the island’s most famous daughter, opened a school for young women to whom she taught poetry, music, and dancing.
Although the sexual behavior of Sappho is still being debated by scholars today, the many poems she wrote about her pupils seem to reveal an impassioned love for women in general.
Same-sex behavior is common in the animal kingdom. Earthworms, for instance, make love underground in total darkness; they have no time to check each other’s sex and look for the appropriate partner. Being equipped with both male and female sex organs, two earthworms that meet in a dark tunnel often impregnate each other in a strictly homosexual affair.
Although the Greeks popularized homosexuality, this sexual behavior was practiced by many primitive tribes. “Men-women” were honored in many parts of the world, particularly in Babylonia, Mexico and Peru. Homosexuals often occupied high positions in these early tribes and were appointed as magicians, medicine men and priests. In Greece, where the nude male figure was highly regarded, homosexuality was practiced openly and was part of the education of a well-bred young man.
“The phenomenon of a love relationship between an older well-educated man who held a prominent place in society and a young boy, whom he was to prepare for his future place in that society, was very much a part of the ancient Greek culture. Homosexuality was considered a proper aspect of a man’s total education. Later, when the boy was older, he himself would take on a younger pupil,” according to Dr. Niels Lauersen, a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Steven Whitney in “It’s Your Body (A Woman’s Guide to Gynecology).”
The Romans later adopted homosexuality but not the ideals the Greeks had. The noble aims of this respected practice were forgotten and homosexuality emerged as a simple act of pleasure. This met the ire of Christians who viewed homosexuality along with the other Roman vices as a perversion.
“The Christian religion reacted against the easy vices of the Romans that were everywhere evident. The Bible considered the begetting of children as the only justification for sex. Any other sexual activity was looked upon as an abuse of the worst sort; sex for pleasure was a sin. Homosexuality, according to the Christians, was against God and nature. Christianity has spread throughout the world in the centuries since then but homosexuality has survived,” Lauersen and Whitney said. (Next: Famous homosexuals.)
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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sexuality-articles/the-roots-of-homosexuality-472952.html
About the Author:
Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com.
Tags: american board of obstetrics and gynecology, ancient greek culture, female homosexuality, homosexual affair, male and female sex organs, sex behavior
