What is the greek word for gay

what is the greek word for gay

Greek Homosexuality

Homosexuality: sexual attraction to persons of the identical sex. In ancient Greece, this was a normal practice.

Introduction

Violent debate, enthusiastic writings, shamefaced silence, flights of fantasy: few aspects of ancient society are so hotly contested as Greek pederasty, or - as we shall see below - homosexuality. Since the British classicist K.J. Dover published his influential guide Greek Homosexuality in 1978, an avalanche of recent studies has appeared. We can discern two approaches:

  1. The historical approach: scholars are looking for the (hypothetical) roots of pederasty in very ancient initiation rites and try to reconstruct a development. Usually, a lot of fantasy is required, because our sources do not often point to to these ancient rites.
  2. The synchronistic approach: scholars focus upon homosexuality in fifth and fourth-century Athens, where it was integral part of social life.

In the present article, we will use the second approach, although we won't overlook the first one. There are many sources of evidence: lyrical poetry, vases, statues, myths, philosophical treatises, speeches, inscriptions, medical texts, tragedies, comedie

Does the Greek pos "arsenokoitai" really point to to homosexuality?

That synonyms is an extraordinary word. It’s a new word; we don’t know of any other instances of the pos until Paul coins the word in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1. It’s a compound word: “arsen” means man and “koite” or “koitas” or “koitai”—depending on a verb or a noun—means bed. It’s men who bed with other men.

It’s quite clarify that Paul has coined this pos from Leviticus 18 and 20. Even if you don’t know any Greek, you could locate online or haul up the Greek transliteration of these two verses. Gaze at the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and then just look at the Greek for the necessary passage in Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20 and you'll see there (and in evidence the words are right next to each other in Leviticus 20) this word for man (“arsen”) and the word for bed (“koitai” or “koite”).

Get a free copy of the ebook ‘What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?’ by telling us a little bit about yourself!

Take a 1-minute survey to join our mailing list and collect a free ebook in the format of your choosing. Read on your preferred digital device, including smart pho

Introduction

Paul uses two words in 1 Cor 6:9, “μαλακοὶ” (malakoi) and “ἀρσενοκοῖται” (arsenokoitai), that are as significant to Paul’s understanding of sexuality as they are difficult to understand. Regard how differently leading English translations render this part of the verse.

“men who practice homosexuality” (ESV; a marginal note reads, “The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts”)

“men who have sex with men” (NIV [2011]; a marginal note reads, “The words men who hold sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in lesbian acts”)

“male prostitutes … queer offenders” (NIV [1984]

“effeminate … homosexuals” (NASB 1995; a marginal note to the first word reads, “i.e. effeminate by perversion”

“effeminate … sodomites” (NKJV)

“effeminate … abusers of themselves with mankind” (AV)

These translations appear to concur that the individuals in view are men who are engaged in some kind of sexual exercise of which Paul disapproves. But the translations’ differences outshine their agreement. Should the terms be understood together or separately?

Does the Greek word arsenokoitai in 1 Corinthians 6:9 really mean “homosexuals” or something else?

Answer



In 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Paul lists some sinful lifestyles that grant evidence that a person is not saved: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who hold sex with men . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.” In other words, a practicing, unrepentant idolater, adulterer, or homosexual is fooling himself if he thinks he is going to heaven. Christians are saved from such sins.

There are some interpreters today who object to lumping homosexuals in with the other sinners listed in this passage. The wording “men who have sex with men” is unclear, they say, and should not be construed as a condemnation of allsame-sex exercise. In an attempt to make homosexual behaviorcompatible with Christianity, they attempt to redefine the Greek word.

The phrase “men who acquire sex with men” (translated “homosexuals” in the NASB) is a translation of the Greek word arsenokoitai. Those who object to this translation say that arsenokoitaidoes not refer to all homosexu

Lover's Legends: The Queer Greek Myths

 

And the Greeks had a word for it...

Παιδεραστεια (‘pederasty’, ‘fancying youths’) was a central feature of Greek civilisation, earning it a reputation from which it has still not fully recovered. ‘The unspeakable vice of the Greeks’ (as E M Forster made a pretend professor describe it in Maurice) has been the protest of ridicule, opprobrium, censorship and innuendo since we first hear of it in Classical Greece. While many contemporary gay men consider of Ancient Greece as an idyllic time for unbridled homosexual behaviour, the truth (as ever) is much more complex and - dare I express it? - interesting.

The study of male homosexuality in Ancient Greece only began in the 1970s, particularly following the publication of Kenneth Dover’s Greek Homosexuality in 1978. This book helped to strip away many of the misconceptions about same-sex desire in the Classical world that had grown up during the nineteenth century and that were becoming commonplace with the growth of the Gay Liberation movement from the late 1960s. What Dover sought to demonstrate was that in Classical Athens, there was an institu