[B-Greek] Was there any word for ...
Kevin Riley
klriley at alphalink.com.au
Mon Oct 25 20:06:42 EDT 2010
Perhaps you are asking for a Greek word that names something that the
Greeks did not think in terms of. That sex should be 'mutual,
consenting and non-exploitative' is something that modern western people
are focused on, as well as defining who exactly is an 'adult', but I
doubt that any ancient people, or many modern peoples, actually think in
those terms. The concept of inequality seems to be inherent in many
concepts of sexual activity, and that may be because most social
relationships were (and in many places still are) thought of as being
inherently between non-equals - at least for the duration of that
activity. When you consider that in some parts of the world the idea
that rape can occur in marriage, or that a female can rape a male, are
still novel (and largely rejected) ideas, you can see the problem of
trying to find a word in one language that defines what is a cultural
idea in a different time and place. It may be more useful to consider
the range of words used to name sexual acts between males, and what is
explicit or implicit in using one word rather than another.
Kevin Riley
On 26/10/2010 10:51 AM, John Benson wrote:
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> Although the question was not strictly limited to behavior, given the
> qualifiers of mutual, consenting, and non-exploitive, it was my
> intention to emphasize behavioral qualities that might be quickly
> observable or discernible, rather than feelings.
>
> Maybe it would have been clearer to say: consenting adults, without
> any bribe or coercion.
>
> With appreciation,
>
> John
>
> On 10/25/10, Carl Conrad<cwconrad2 at mac.com> wrote:
>> On Oct 25, 2010, at 12:18 AM, John Benson wrote:
>>> Please forgive me if this topic has already been worn out here, but I am
>>> fairly new and working on a paper.
>>>
>>> Was there any Greek word in the biblical world that could have been used
>>> (whether it got into the bible or not) to name any male-male, adult-adult,
>>> mutually consenting non-exploitive sexual activity? There seem to be a
>>> plethora of words that do *not* quite have that meaning, because of
>>> indicating adult-youth, or master-slave, or otherwise exploitive or
>>> coerced.
>>>
>>>
>>> Replies by email rather than posted to the whole list would be just fine.
>>> All I want is a little scholarly help.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your kind attention.
>> I've been reflecting on this question from time to time repeatedly since
>> I first read it earlier this morning. It's a strange question, reminding me
>> a bit of Aristotle's reference in the Nicomachean Ethics to virtues and
>> vices (whether of excess or deficiency) that are recognizable in human
>> behavior but for which, he says, there isn't any regular Greek noun
>> referring
>> to it.
>>
>> The one qualifier that seems to me to put the kibosh on the effort to find
>> the word you're looking for is not so much the "male-male"factor as the
>> "sexual" factor. It's commonly said (probably too often) that Greek uses
>> different words for sexual attraction (ἔρως, ERWS), kindred feeling
>> (φιλία FILIA), and ἀγάπη AGAPH, which BDAG defines as "the quality
>> of warm regard for and interest in another, esteem, affection, regard,
>> love (without limitation to very intimate relationships, and very seldom
>> in general Greek of sexual attraction)." I know that we've had recurrent
>> disputes in this forum over whether or not the alternation between the
>> verbs AGAPAN and FILEIN in John 21 is really significant, in the
>> course of which disputes it's been noted that both verbs are found in other
>> GNT texts where one might expect the other one instead.
>>
>> It is said -- as BDAG says indeed -- that AGAPH is not ordinarily used
>> in Greek of sexual attraction. And that seems to be true even of such
>> texts as Eph. 5:25 Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας, καθὼς
>> καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ... , for there the exhortation
>> to husbands really does not seem to focus on sexual preference.
>>
>> All of which having been said, I personally continue to suppose that
>> AGAPH as Paul characterizes it in 1 Cor 13 is the term par excellence
>> for unselfish and non-exploitative affection. 1 Cor 13 is often read
>> at weddings, and in fact I read my own version of it at my daughter's
>> wedding at her request, although I don't think that the focus of the
>> original is on marital love at all. And so, leaving aside all questions
>> of the propriety of male-male, female-female, or male-female sexual
>> relationship, I would still think that AGAPH is the proper word -- in
>> the Christian tradition, at least -- for a profound mutual non-exploitative
>> loving commitment of one person for another whether or not that
>> commitment has a sexual expression.
>>
>>
>>
>> Carl W. Conrad
>> Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
>>
>>
>>
>>
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