Why “Pedophilia” Was So Normalized in Ancient Greece

Ifyou’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve probably heard some disturbing justifications for pedophilia. Some claim it’s just another “sexual orientation” that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-lgbtq-community-p-acronym/factcheck-thelgbtq-community-isnotadding-p-to-their-acronym-idUSKBN2352J8" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">deserves</a> to be added to the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Others claim that it’s a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/opinion/pedophilia-a-disorder-not-a-crime.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">harmless source of pleasure</a>. And yet others use a historical <a href="https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/37221" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">justification</a> — they point to Ancient Greece, where sexual relationships between young men and older men were highly idealized. And yes, it’s true that such relationships were extremely common in ancient Greece. But is it accurate to call them pedophilic? Sure, Greek “pederasty” involved practices that are usually frowned upon today. After all, the word <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-greece/pederasty-homosexuality-ancient-greece-boys-sparta-girls-plato-sappho-consent/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">paiderastia</a> translates to “love of boys.” But it’s <a href="https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/37221" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">not accurate</a> to equate it with modern pedophilia, since it didn’t involve pre-pubescent boys. <a href="https://medium.com/exploring-history/why-pedophilia-was-so-normalized-in-ancient-greece-79164dc72930">Read More</a>