The things you learn from reading obituaries:
because he showed the Greeks were hostile to sex between bearded males,
How did that work?
Was it beards in general? Or was the beard a signifier of age and or maturity in Greek society? And thus adult homosexuality was not on, while men and boys was just fine?
Between adult males.
Although I think Greek homosexuality is a Rorshack Test. You see what your personal predelictions lead you to see. So I am surprise that he was happily married, but perhaps I would not have wanted him to teach my son.
Basically, yes, as I recall. There were boys (paides), beardless youths (ephebes) and men (bearded by default). So it was sex between grown men that was socially unacceptable.
And if a man called Ken Dover says so, he probably knows what he’s talking about.
Might he not have been thinking about adult heterosexual contact. I imagine it would be an easy mistake to make given the moustache growing abilities of some Greek ladies.
The beards give them something to hang on to.
Pingback: Half true perhaps