Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged relationship between an older male the erastes and a younger male the eromenos usually in his teens. Some scholars locate its origin in initiation ritual , particularly rites of passage on Crete , where it was associated with entrance into military life and the religion of Zeus. Pederasty was both idealized and criticized in ancient literature and philosophy. Scholars have debated the role or extent of pederasty, which is likely to have varied according to local custom and individual inclination.
He is aware of his attractiveness, but self-absorbed in his relationship with those who desire him. He will smile sweetly at the admiring lover; he will show appreciation for the other's friendship, advice, and assistance. He will allow the lover to greet him by touching, affectionately, his genitals and his face, while he looks, himself, demurely at the ground.
Though the object of importunate solicitation, he is himself not in need of anything beyond himself. He is unwilling to let himself be explored by the other's needy curiosity, and he has, himself, little curiosity about the other. He is something like a god, or the statue of a god.
The Greek practice of pederasty came suddenly into prominence at the end of the Archaic period of Greek history. There is a brass plaque from Crete , about — BC, which is the oldest surviving representation of pederastic custom. Such representations appear from all over Greece in the next century; literary sources show it as being established custom in many cities by the 5th century BC.
Cretan pederasty as a social institution seems to have been grounded in an initiation which involved abduction. The youth received gifts, and the philetor along with the friends went away with him for two months into the countryside, where they hunted and feasted. At the end of this time, the philetor presented the youth with three contractually required gifts: military attire, an ox, and a drinking cup. Other costly gifts followed. Upon their return to the city, the youth sacrificed the ox to Zeus , and his friends joined him at the feast.
