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The Elizabethan poet [[Richard Barnefield]] tells in his poem ''The Tears of an affectionate Shepherd sick for Love'' of a shepherd and his beloved Ganimede.<ref name=cassell/>
The Elizabethan poet [[Richard Barnefield]] tells in his poem ''The Tears of an affectionate Shepherd sick for Love'' of a shepherd and his beloved Ganimede.<ref name=cassell/>
In the 18th century a satirical print of [[Samuel Drybutter]] was printed with the caption "Ganymede".


In Latin (via Etruscan) the name was rendered as "Catamitus", hence the more common term [[Catamite]].
In Latin (via Etruscan) the name was rendered as "Catamitus", hence the more common term [[Catamite]].

Revision as of 08:26, 27 June 2014

Ganymede pouring a drink for Zeus

Ganymede was a term sometimes used to refer to passive gay men or youths. It derives from the mythological figure Ganymede (Ancient Greek Γανυμήδης, Ganymēdēs) a Trojan prince whom the god Zeus (Jupiter), in the form of an eagle, carried off to be his cup-bearer on Mount Olympus.

"He [ Francis Bacon (philosopher) ] was a Pederast. His Ganimeds and Favourites tooke Bribes."[1]

The twelfth-century poet Hilarius compares William of Anfonia, the "splendour of England", to Ganymede, writing

"Certainly if Jupiter now reigned, ... he would become a bird for you, so that you might be joined with him forever,"[2]

The Elizabethan poet Richard Barnefield tells in his poem The Tears of an affectionate Shepherd sick for Love of a shepherd and his beloved Ganimede.[2]

In the 18th century a satirical print of Samuel Drybutter was printed with the caption "Ganymede".

In Latin (via Etruscan) the name was rendered as "Catamitus", hence the more common term Catamite.

References

<references>

  1. Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts, 1949, article headed "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Ganymede" in Randy P Lunčunas Conner and others, Cassell's Encyclopedia of queer myth, symbol and spirit, 1998, ISBN 0-304-70423-7.