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Homosexual Spartans?


MrBlack103
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I was reading up on the Spartans a bit and encountered a strange statement - The Spartans thought that the highest form of love was between two men. The explanation for this is that they believed that if two gay men were in the same division of the army, they would fight harder to impress each other. It must have worked, I reckon, because as many of us know, the Spartans had a fearsome reputation on the field of battle. Just thought that this little discovery might generate a bit of discussion. :)

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Actually, your source is incorrect. There's also a difference between Homosexuality, Pederasty, and Pedophilia. The first and third were against the law in most, if not all city-states. The 2nd is what is applicable to some cities and in some cases. It may or may not have been officially sanctioned. I suggest reading more about it at Roman Army Talk (google it :)).

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Greeks were thought to be the home of homosexuals, but in reality ROME had more homosexuals then Greece did, infact back then no one cared what gender their lover was, but in the Roman country, it was almost that you could have intercourse with anyone, at the public pool, Prostitutes are literaly everywere (Prostitution is the oldest illegal art), and especially in Villas on an island (EX off the coast of Corsica).

But I wonder why this question got your attention (I'm not offending you), for why would it matter if a soldier is Strait or Gay?

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But I wonder why this question got your attention (I'm not offending you), for why would it matter if a soldier is Strait or Gay?

As is suggested, a gay man with someone he loves in the phalanx could potentially be more dangerous and much stronger because he fights out of love for another.

Just a thought - There probably were many homosexuals in the armies of each city state. Remember, the older men were usually at the front, with the young men and adolescents in the back. A simple theory could be that the younger hoplites in the back would never run because of the older lovers in the front, and the ones in the front would also fight harder to protect their lovers in the back rows. (y)

I believe that the all homosexual unit was actually from the city state of Thebes. Formed by Gorgidas and called "The Sacred Band". With that unit, Thebes became a very strong and powerful city state. I guess the unit worked for them. :)

The city state and the acceptance of homosexuals may be slightly off base, but in general what he has said is fairly accurate.

Edited by Silver
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I have an idea to use this ingame:

The Hellenes' Phalanx has a lot of defense, The more are fighting together, the higher their defense bonus. When the lines break, and many hoplites get killed, their bonus lowers.

Realistically speaking: 1 hoplite is crap, a phalanx of hoplites is extremely dangerous...

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