Gay Representation in Ancient & Classic Literature: Part 1

Throughout history, queer literature has not had an easy ride. Literature with LGBTQ+ themes has faced legal restrictions, book bans, and persecution. But despite these hurdles, queer themes in literature can be traced back all the way back to ancient times.

This is an episode I’ve had kind of half-written for ages, all the way back since episode 119 in June 2022, when I did an episode about LGBTQ+ rep in YA fiction. So I thought it was finally time to use my notes from almost 2 years ago and finish the damn episode! I’m going to be talking about some of the earliest gay representation in ancient and classic literature. This is such a huge topic and is why I kind of left it alone before because I got overwhelmed, so I thought the best way to do this is to cover it over multiple episodes. So this is part 1!

Social acceptance of homosexuality has varied in many world cultures throughout history, which means that LGBT literature has covered a vast array of themes and concepts. People have often turned to literature as a source of validation and understanding of same-sex attraction, and it proves that it has always existed. Themes of love between people of the same gender are found in a variety of ancient texts throughout the world.

Since the beginning of recorded history and in a multitude of cultures, myths, folklore and sacred texts have incorporated themes of same-sex eroticism and gender identity. Myths often include homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender themes as a symbol for sacred or mythic experiences.

A lot of the main studies into ancient queer literature focus on Greek or Roman, but there is also representation in almost every culture, including Egyptian and West African, Maya and Aztec, Native American, Indian, Australian Aboriginal and the Pacific Islands, and so many more. But the reason why Greek and Roman are focused on so much is because these myths have been described as being crucially influential on Western LGBT literature, with the original myths being constantly re-published and re-written, and the relationships and characters serving as icons. (I know Wikipedia isn’t what you should use as a trustworthy source, but I have linked a really great Wikipedia page in the notes that brings together literature from cultures all over the world.) So, let’s look at some specific examples.

Some of the earliest representations of LGBTQ characters, themes, and same-sex love originated thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece and Rome. Plato’s Symposium and Homer’s Iliad describe same-sex partnerships, including one between two heroes of the Iliad, Achilles and Patroclus.

In the Iliad, though Homer didn’t explicitly portray the heroes Achilles and Patroclus as homosexual lovers, later ancient authors presented their relationship in that way. In his 5th-century BC lost tragedy The Myrmidons, Aeschylus casts Achilles and Patroclus as pederastic lovers. In a surviving fragment of the play, Achilles speaks of "our frequent kisses" and a "devout union of the thighs".

Plato does the same in his Symposium from around 385 BC. The speaker Phaedrus cites Aeschylus and Achilles as examples of how people will show bravery or even sacrifice themselves for their lovers. The Symposium also includes a piece that explains the differences between homo- and heterosexuality and celebrates the love between men.

Many stories in Greek and Roman mythology also reveal relationships and liaisons between same-sex and intersex figures. Male lovers were attributed to ancient Greek gods and heroes such as Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon and Heracles as a reflection and validation of the tradition of pederasty, which was a socially acknowledged practice at the time (although creepy as hell today).

Apollo, the god of sun and music, is considered the patron of same sex love, as he had many male lovers and was often invoked to bless homosexual unions. Other gods are also sometimes considered patrons of homosexual love, such as the love goddess Aphrodite. In the poetry of Sappho, Aphrodite is identified as the patron of lesbians.

We also see a lot of references to what we could consider today to be transgender or intersex identities, and also androgynous gender expression. In terms of androgyny, Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite (and where we get the word hermaphrodite from), is considered the god of intersex people. Hermaphroditus was depicted as a winged youth with both male and female features — usually female thighs, breasts, and feminine hairstyle, but with male genitalia.

Dionysus is also sometimes referred to as effeminate, which is sometimes linked to his being dressed in girl's clothes during his childhood. Apollo was another god with effeminate features—his cheeks and chin are said to be soft and tender, and he was beardless and kept his hair long, giving him a feminine appearance. In one of his myths, he is mocked for draping himself in women's clothing, while on the other hand his twin sister Artemis was made fun of for appearing manly and rough.

In the Orphic Hymns, a collection of hymns possibly from around the second or third century AD, several gods are referred to as "both male and female" or "both female and male", including Selene, Athena, and Adonis.

The acceptance of homosexuality in ancient Rome meant that there was a good awareness of male-male attraction and sex in other ancient poetry and fiction that came after it, appearing as early as the 1st century BC. The Satyricon by Petronius is a Latin work of fiction detailing the misadventures of Encolpius and his lover, a sixteen-year-old servant boy named Giton. Written in the 1st century AD during the reign of Nero, it’s the earliest known text of its kind depicting homosexuality.

There’s also some very early representation in Japanese literature. In the celebrated Japanese work The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, the title character Hikaru Genji is rejected by the lady Utsusemi and instead sleeps with her young brother. A quote from the text reads, "Genji pulled the boy down beside him ... Genji, for his part, or so one is informed, found the boy more attractive than his chilly sister.”

Following this, we move on through the centuries, and this is where things start to move away from ancient literature and mythology into the classic eras and the Age of Enlightenment. So there’s so much to research and I don’t want to miss anything important, I’m going to cover all of this in part 2 in the near future, so stay tuned!

If you want to learn more about queer representation in literature, I’ve done a couple of episodes related to it! Check out episode 119 about a brief history of LGBTQ+ representation in young adult fiction, and we’ve also done episodes about media too, including an episode about general LGBTQ+ rep in film, and one about Heartstopper and Our Flag Means Death. Finally, there’s also a bonus episode on our Patreon all about lesbian pulp fiction.