ARTICLE ON ANDREW CALIMACH'S GENDER STUDIES DISCOURSE

The Exquisite Corpse of Ganymede: A Cursory Overview of an Ancient Gender Studies Discourse by Andrew Calimach
Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

Those interested in the ancient Greek myths remember the tale of Apollo and Hyacinthus, others may recall Hermes and Krokus, (which is a variation on Apollo and Hyacinthus), Dionysus and Ampelos and Poseidon and Pelops. This gender studies overview serves to enlighten us of one of the most intriguing gay male couples in history; Zeus and Ganymede but what was the real meaning behind the myth and the Greek people's view of the gods?.

Ganymede in the myth is a golden-haired boy who set men's hearts a-flutter, but most of all made Zeus the king of the gods fill with lust at how attractive he was, and how many men would no doubt want him. Aware of how other men viewed Ganymede, Zeus turns into an eagle and takes him from Earth to his home on Olympus. There he lives the perfect life of one who has captured Zeus's affection, but there is one problem, Zeus's wife, Hera is fiercely jealous of her husband's affection for him and immediately sends orders for Ganymede and his people to be killed during one of her all too familiar rages. Zeus, keen to protect the handsome youth saw what devastation his wife had done and saved Ganymede from the fray, setting him "among the stars as Aquarius, the water bearer."

Zeus was prone to his dalliances with women, but like all Greeks he enjoyed his relationships with mortal men as well. There are many tales of the gods and their love of young men. As with many of the men who attracted the gods, they were intoxicating to their respective god, and other gods and men, so had plenty of competition among them as to who would be most likely to court them. In their case, the gods almost always won over these handsome youths, but as an example, with Apollo and Hyacinthus, they do not always have a good end. Attraction, desire and in the end jealousy often surface regarding the youth's choice of god. While Zeus and Ganymede's love was investigated, it became clear that there was a sense of honour in young men being chosen by older men to be their lovers and companions, earlier by the Cretans and later by the Romans. In modern times, there is documentation of male bonding and friendship that spans over a lifetime with men being in relationships with each other just as men would fall in love and form relationships with women. While it was normal to encounter stories of Sapphic love between women, it was also seen as normal for a man to be in a relationship with another man, something today's society has not yet truly embraced.

The ancient Initiation rites are supposed to start with the young man being willing, but many are abducted from their homes by the ones showing an interest in them. One must assume from this that the primitive lust that drove these men to abduct younger men inspired the tales that were written using the gods as the abductors, and what started out as mere wish fulfilment for some would be real for others. It isn't surprising that they would initiate such pomp and circumstance to bring men together in lust as well as love. The fact that the Cretans were seen in two different lights was also surprising as Plato viewed them as "oversexed ruffians" while Plutarch saw them as completely different, "a people renowned for their sober and restrained ways." Surely these two have somehow got their wires crossed about how honourable and wise the Cretans were.

The idea of bringing two men together in the hopes that they might find love is an interesting way of pre arranging a courtship, as the fact remains that they many not find love and the whole act of ritual and feasting might all be in vain. In abducting the young man for the festivities and ritual, the Cretans are honouring the gods.

"Here Cretan male love begins what has been described as a pageant of nobility, or what might be called an economics of honour that promises great riches, through the mutual giving and receiving of esteem, for those who act nobly – but threatens bankruptcy, through great disgrace, for those who misbehave."

They have done this before, and in a way for the younger man, it would have been seen as an honour to be chosen and whisked away in all the festivities. What is described in the texts is a form of bridal ritual, the kind reserved normally for heterosexual couples. It is of great interest that they felt such equality for the same sex couples. Bearing in mind that this is a concept that is only just being considered in our "civilised" times. However, though the younger male had been abducted, he is subject to such a great feasting and honour that he is also considered of becoming a man after a sacrificial act with an ox. And he has the opportunity to tell his new lover in front of all his comrades whether he will honour him by accepting his love, or deny him and let him be seen as nothing more than a mere abductor. Bearing in mind the expense the older man had gone to, he is taking quite a risk re-enacting an ancient ritual only previously performed by the gods.

"As Ganymede looked on in horror, the Greeks slaughtered Ganymede’s kin and the whole Trojan race. All Zeus could do was draw a veil of cloud over the butchery to shield the boy from the gory sight. Ganymede himself he placed beyond her reach for all time. He set his darling among the stars as Aquarius, the water bearer." For those of us interested in Astrology, it would be inspiring to think of the sign of Aquarius as being Ganymede, the lover of Zeus.

Calimach, instead of only telling us about gender studies through the Zeus and Ganymede myth as being a "successful snatch" and a very good outcome, he also mentions what he calls a "bad snatch," with Laius and his beloved, Chrysippus. This tale is seen as the antithesis of the Zeus and Ganymede myth with young Chrysippus being kidnapped, his fathers house robbed and him being used as a sex slave by Laius. This story was amazingly used as a teaching tool to youths who would have been instructed on what would be the right way to honour this ritual.

What Calimach is trying to say about this ritual between a young man and an older man is that the men through performing this ritual were almost trying to become at one with the gods themselves, rather than just being eager to kidnap and use a younger man for sexual reasons, though it can't be denied that this did not happen. I liked it and found it an interesting read.