Ganymedes the Gay

Today's episode covers the story of Ganymedes, a young man so beautiful that the cosmic king Zeus snatches him away to be his immortal boyfriend. 

Though the story is among the oldest pieces of Greek Mythology which comes down to us, many scholars have questioned when the narrative became homoerotic. It was a long time before any author explicitly stated that Zeus and Ganymedes were lovers, though it may well have been coyly presented from the beginning. 

Once it was established, gay men used the image of Ganymedes to represent their lovers in a wide variety of situations. Ganymede was an immortal archetype for all mortal homosexual men. 

Transcript

Dominica Raven 0:28

Hello everybody and welcome to Lambda, the LGBT and Antiquity Podcast, the show about all things LGBT in the ancient world. I'm your host, Dominica Raven, episode 6, Ganymedes the Gay.

Intro

Dominica Raven 0:42

Now I need the gentler touch, for of boys, beloved of the gods, I will sing. Zeus, the Supreme King, once loved Ganymedes the Phrygian, so he changed his form into a mighty eagle, the greatest bird in the skies, who carries Zeus's thunderbolts. Ganymedes was a shepherd out tending his flocks on Mount Ida, near the city of Troy. He was compassionate and caring towards his flock. Suddenly the great eagle Zeus appears and whisks the boy away to Olympus. When he returns to a more human-looking form, Zeus kisses Ganymedes for the very first time. In the beginning, Ganymede is scared and surprised. He actually takes the god for a rustic deity like Pan and assumes he's trying to capture the sheep. As they talk, Ganymede is also concerned that his father will miss him and that his sheep will be harmed by wolves and wild animals. It takes some time for the mightiest of all the gods to convince the simple shepherd that he has in fact been taken up to Olympus and given divine rank. Once Zeus explains that Ganymedes will be the immortal cup-bearer for the gods, Ganymede asks about agemates and friends. Zeus laughs at the insecurity of this youth and introduces him to Eros, in Latin, Cupid, the child of Aphrodite. Eros and Ganymede are habitually portrayed as playmates in literature and the visual arts. So then Ganymede asks if he will be sleeping at night with Eros, his new friend. And Zeus chuckles and says, Truly that is why I stole you off. I wanted us to sleep together. Then the god Hermes took the boy to Olympus and gave him the nectar of immortality.

History of the Myth

Dominica Raven 2:37

The story of Ganymede and Zeus is significant because it is a real candidate for the first homosexual lover in Greek and Roman history. This mythical episode would be reflected upon for centuries. Some authors saw the very origin of homosexuality, that very birth of the type of affection and love that many experience. Others found formulas to describe male beauty and writing affectionately for male lovers. And some moral hectoring old men found an excuse. Those gays are just using the story of Ganymede to justify their own debauchery. But for whatever reason, Ganymede was a story ancient, medieval, and modern authors alike revisit habitually. While Zeus is married officially to Hera and has numerous other female consorts and lovers such as Leto, Demeter, and Maya, there is a certain pansexuality reflected in the stories of Zeus. Zeus has many affairs with women and men and even non-human figures such as satyrs. When we look at the many, many loves of Zeus, they're all bound to Zeus, regardless of the fact that Zeus is not bound to any of them. They know that they're just one of the many, many sexual adventures Zeus will engage with across time, even if they themselves are not sexually active apart from Zeus. So when we look at Ganymedes, he represents a loyal, faithful figure, even if Zeus is never faithful back. Ganymedes might be able to fool around with his agemate Eros, or with Hermes, Latin Mercury, but Ganymedes only in a real relationship with Zeus. Therefore, we have this figure who is only ever shown in a homosexual relationship. Many authors focused on Zeus and were bound to see this bisexual or pansexual figure, but when we focus on the beloved Ganymedes, we do see a truly homosexual figure in the ancient world. So the question is: when did the story of Zeus and Ganymedes develop its homoerotic flavor? The story of Ganymede is one of the oldest pieces of mythology which comes down to us. Homer makes two references to the story. First, when Diomedes is discussing the magnificent horses which pulled the chariot of Aeneas, the future founder of Rome and the Roman people. These were the fastest and most powerful horses ever bred on earth. The original were gifts to the Trojan king Laomedon, the father of Ganymede, as a gift for his son. The descendants of these original horses now pull Aeneas's chariot. Diomedes defeats Aeneas in a duel and takes his horses, but is not able to kill him due to the timely intervention of Aphrodite and Apollo. The other reference to Ganymede from the Iliad comes from Aeneas' duel with Achilles. In traditional fashion, the two combatants swap boasts and insults before they recite their familial genealogy. Here's another reference to Aeneas's great uncle Ganymedes. Homer explicitly states Ganymedes was born the fairest of mortal men, wherefore the gods caught him up on high to be cupbearer for Zeus by reason of his beauty, that he might dwell with the immortals. This time it's Poseidon who intervenes, so Aeneas is not killed by Achilles. The future culture hero of the Romans kind of sucks in the Iliad. In any case, these are the first two references to Ganymedes in literature. It's important to note that technically, neither one explicitly states that Ganymedes was Zeus's boyfriend. Now there's another Homeric reference to Ganymedes found in Homeric hymn number five to Aphrodite. The hymn tells the story of Aphrodite and Anchises, the father of Aeneas. The two make love and then have a discussion about the implications of a goddess and a mortal lying together. During this discussion, Aphrodite references Tithanus and Ganymedes as other times mortal and immortal beings laid together. She says, I felt awful grief in that I laid me in bed with a mortal man. Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes because of his beauty to bed amongst the deathless ones and poured drinks for all the gods in the house of Zeus. Critically, Aphrodite is referencing times when mortals and immortals were lovers. All three of these are important love stories. Dawn, Eos, fell in love with Tithonus and requested Zeus grant her lover immortality. Though Tithonus became immortal, he was never granted eternal youth, so he kept aging and aging until he shriveled up and all but disappeared, though his wisdom was still sought by gods and oracles alike. The story of Anchises is also clearly romantic. The two have sex, then Aphrodite gives birth to Aeneas, who is destined to survive the Trojan War and settle in Rome. So though the Homeric hymn to Aphrodite does not explicitly state Ganymedes as a homosexual lover, the fact that the author put it on a list of sexual encounters between mortals and gods is very telling. Ganymedes, Anchises, and Tithanus are given as examples of male lovers. Thus, though the narrative does not explicitly state the relationship as erotic, there really isn't a viable alternate interpretation. The likely candidate for the first time Ganymede is explicitly stated as a homosexual lover is in the works of Theognus, a lyric poet who lived during the mid-6th century BC, over 200 years after Homer. The narrative voice in his poem begins by praising the good looks of a soft-skinned young man and lamenting the poet's fortunes in homosexual courting. The narrative voice makes this clear. The love of boys has given us delights ever since Ganymede was loved by Krono's son himself, who seized and brought him to Olympus and made him divine. So this poem claims Ganymede as the archetypal gay lover. The context of the poem is actually something of a defense of homosexuality. The very last line says, Don't be amazed, Simonides, that I as well have been conquered by love for a handsome boy. This first explicit reference to Ganymedes as a gay lover is in a defense of homosexuality. This implies that not only was homosexuality present, but it was viewed with suspicion or even condemnation. Thus, the case in point of the story is that homosexuality cannot be too far out of the norm as even Zeus has partaken. So, while potentially that first reference in the Iliad made in the 8th century BC includes Ganymedes being abducted for totally non-sexual reasons, as early as the 7th century BC, the sexual reasons were already explicit. Now, what specifically that abduction was for, if not sexuality, is unclear. It also begs the question of why these Homeric references often center around the horses given as gifts to the father of Ganymedes, which is exactly the same thing one would expect to gifts given to the father of the bride. For the record, I have yet to read a compelling argument for what is going on in Homer with the story of Ganymede if it isn't homosexuality. Ultimately, though, the very first example given was a defense of homosexuality, and in time the character of Ganymedes would be used to glorify one's own lovers. It was common for a poet to compare their lover to Ganymedes as a synonym for youthful beauty and lovely male appearances.

Poetic Praises of Youthful Masculinity

Dominica Raven 10:56

Now, some of these ancient examples are clearly focused on beauty for its aesthetic qualities, which may not have been sexual at all. Pindar was a 5th-century poet best known for his praises of the victors in various Olympic Games. One such ode was composed around 476 for the victor Hagicidemus. After acknowledging the strength and ability of the athlete, Pindar compares the beautiful athlete glorying in his victory to Ganymedes' beauty. Nothing in this poem is explicitly sexual. A Roman poet named Marshall composed a huge volume of epigrams in the first century A.D. He references Ganymedes many times in his works. Some of the references clearly focus on glorifying a youthful male form. But Marshall also wrote love poems for a young man named Cestus, praising his beauty and chastity. Cestus is beautiful and Marshall longs for his tenderness and sensuality, but is disappointed that the youth had such a sense of chastity, which prevents him from going beyond kissing, though Marshall admires the chastity itself. Another epigram is directed at Marshall's close friend Apher. When the two drink together, Marshall eyes up Aphor's cup-bearing boyfriend named Hillos. Apparently, Aphor had a problem with this. Marshall suggests that Aether's response is unjust because beauty should not be hidden. Marshall even hints that Hermes is allowed to play with Ganymede and Zeus is not jealous. So Aphor should only invite blind men to his dinner parties if he doesn't want men to enjoy the sight of his boyfriend Hillas. A similar motif occurs in another poem where Marshall admires Theopompus the cook. Marshall is so impressed with the beauty of the youth he's unable to imagine why one so pretty would be confined to a kitchen when he should be out publicly pouring wine. Surely Zeus would never have done this to Ganymedes. Finally, Marshall has a boyfriend named Telesphoros, who is referenced in several poems. They share an intense, though sometimes stormy, relationship. Marshall admires this youth so much he even states, Jove is not more happy at the side of Ganymede. Clearly, this is an intense, long-lasting homosexual relationship. One final example is drawn from the mythic love between Ampelos and Dionysus. Dionysus falls in love with the satyr and the two frolic in the forests and the streams of wild Phrygia. Sick with affection, Dionysus calls out to the heavens and says that Ampelos outshines even Ganymedes. Later, Dionysus mourns the death of the boy, saying Zeus was able to save Ganymedes from death, but Dionysus could not save Ampelos. It is important that the word Ampelos is a word for grapevine, so the idea that the cup-bearer is put on a level of the glorious wine poured out of the cup provides an interesting parallel in the story. It is especially important here as though Ampelos does die, he is transformed into the literal grapevine after death. So despite the lamentation, Dionysus was actually able to save Ampelos and the two enjoy eternity together.

Conclusion

Dominica Raven 14:29

So though Ganymedes is one of the oldest pieces of mythology we have, some scholars have questioned at what point the homosexual element was introduced. The two references in the Iliad are suggestive but inconclusive. The Homeric hymn is telling as Ganymedes is listed among the male lovers of gods, but this is just circumstantial evidence. What we see is what ancient and modern authors alike have viewed as queer coded elements in a narrative. Ultimately, it was in later poetry that Ganymede was transfigured into that archetypal male lover. Once it was established, though, Ganymedes became the measuring stick for praising male beauty, whether sexually or purely aesthetically. Authors invoked Ganymedes in much the same way they used Helen of Argos, this archetypal image of beauty. Ganymedes is a male lover reflected in the gods, and many humans idealize their human lovers in terms of Ganymedes. Critically, it's usually a youthful, blooming beauty being praised. These men are admiring the youthful appearances and not necessarily manly attributes associated with these young men. Even Pindar does not liken the Olympian athlete to Heracles or one of the strong manly heroes, but a softer, youthful masculinity of Ganymedes. Marshall is generally talking about wine pourers and cooks, youths, not middle-aged men. And at this point in the story, Dionysus and Ampelos are youths. These examples that we've talked about today are drawn from major canon-level poets like Pindar and Marshall, but there are just so many examples we could have drawn from. Poets use Ganymedes as a synonym for beauty, yes, but also social roles. Notice that the cooks and the cupbearers are not the idealized image of manliness, but of youth. For a man to have a younger, even much younger boyfriend is the ideal. This does not necessarily mean that gay men had to have an extreme age differential, but it implies strongly that this was a more socially acceptable version of homosexuality than between two peers. Remember, the first explicit reference to a sexual relationship between Zeus and Ganymedes was in the works of Theognis, and it was a defense of homosexuality invoking the myth to explain the poet's own desires towards a younger male. What's critical for our discussion is that all of these examples are examples of male homosexuality expressed in the first person towards their lovers. Their emotions are strong, strong enough to be immortalized in poetry. It is unfortunate that so often the praise singer's words are recorded, where the praised man's voice is lost. So what comes down to us is a very one-sided narrative of homosexuality. But it remains remarkable that these praises survived at all. They provide us with a glimpse into the relationship itself and the homoerotic desires within. By studying Ganymedes, we are technically studying many gay men in antiquity.

Next Week

Dominica Raven 17:57

Next week we're going to explore bisexuality represented in Apollo's amorous escapades. While many deities have their boyfriends, just like we saw with Zeus and Ganymedes, most of the gods favor heteronormativity. This is where Apollo comes in. Apollo is visibly bisexual with strong affection both for men and for women. Included among these are Hyacinthos, another candidate for the first male lover in history, and Daphne, one of the most famous loves between a god and a mortal, in the entire canon. Hope to see you next Monday.

Notes and Comments

Dominica Raven 18:46

Notes and comments. The retelling of the narrative of Ganymedes is drawn from Ovid, the Roman poet who lived between 43 BC to 18 A.D. His Metamorphosis, chapter 10, verses 152 through 161, contains the story of Zeus and Ganymedes. Another source used in this discussion is Lucian, a Greek poet who lived between 120 and 180 AD. He was known to mix myth, history, and comedy into satires that give often humorous retellings and commentary on Roman life. His Dialogues of the Gods No. 10 contains a discussion between Zeus and the recently abducted Ganymedes. The portion of the episode mapping the history of the story of Ganymedes, starting with a dissection of the Homeric references and carrying it through the archaic lyric poetry, is drawn from Bernard Sargent's Homosexuality in Greek Myth, Chapter 22, The Handsome Ganymedes. The book was first published in French in 1984 and was translated by Arthur Goldhammer in 1986. The call out to Ganymedes during Aeneas and Diomedes' duel is found in Homer's Iliad, Book 5, verses 255 through 274. Homer's Iliad, Book 20, verses 232 through 234, contains the part where Achilles and Aeneas swap their genealogies. The quotation of Homer was drawn from A. T. Murray's translation, done in 1924 for the Loeb Classical Library, which is now in the public domain. The Homeric hymns were written between the 7th and the 5th centuries BC. Bards would sit at important civic festivals and holidays and then perform Homer live on their lyres. Generally, before they began the epic material, the bards would sing a brief hymn to one of the gods, praising their attributes or telling a different key story from that god's mythology. These were written by the Homeridae. Some of these bards literally descended from Homer, and others who performed Homer in a religious meditation, all of whom know Homer by heart. So these little hymns became attached to the works of Homer, so much so that we really don't know the names of the people who actually composed them. It is probable that the Homeric hymn to Aphrodite was fairly early in the date range, but we can't be certain precisely when it was written. The quote was from Homeric hymn number 5, verses 202 through 217. The quote comes from Evelyn White's 1936 translation of Hesiod Homeric Hymns and Homerica for the Loeb Classical Library. The works of Theognos, called the Theognidaea, was a poetic anthology which became associated with Theognis of Megara, who lived in the 6th century BC. However, the poetry which survives appears to be an amalgamation of works spanning about a century either way and written by an unclear number of pens. This is a persistent problem with studying ancient works when we don't actually. Know who wrote what or when, precisely because of the way the work has come down to us by edited anthology. Some scholars believe that the poem quoted here is actually the work of Euneus, who lived in the 5th century, but we cannot be sure. The quote from Theognos is translated by Andrew Miller, 1996, Greek Lyric, an anthology in translation by Hackett Publishing. I want to point out that the Homeric hymn date range and the date range for the works of the Theognidea overlap in most maddeningly unhelpful way. Both are amalgamations of many authors' labors composed between the 7th and 5th centuries BC. We literally cannot say which came first, but since both of them do present the homoeroticism in the Ganymedes episode, it's not actually all that important for our purposes. Pindar was a Theban poet who lived from about 518 through about 438 BC. He composed a lot of poetry, especially glorifying the victors at the Olympic Games. Marshall was a Roman poet who lived from around 40 to 104 AD. He composed several books of poetry, most famously his Epigrams. Martial Epigram Book 8, No. 46, discusses the beauty and chastity of Cestus. Martial Epigram Book 9, No. 25, discusses the beauty of Apher's boyfriend, and Martial Epigram Book 10, No. 66, contains the beautiful cook. Martial Epigram, Book 11, No. 26, contains the figure of Telesphoros, who is also referenced in Book 11, No. 58, though that is the subject of more censorship for its obscenity. The quote was drawn from Bond's Classical Library, 1897, public domain translation. Nonnus of Panopoulos tells the tragedy of Dionysus and Ampelos in books 10 and 11 of the Dionysiaca, written during the 5th century A.D. Dionysus' affection, connected with Ganymedes, is detailed in Book 10, verses 292 through 320, and Dionysus' lament about not being able to save Ampelos is in Book 11, verses 118 to 145. That's all for this week. We'll see you next Monday.