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Ganymede

From LGBT History Project
Revision as of 22:10, 3 October 2012 by Ross Burgess (talk | contribs)

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, in the form of an eagle, carried off to be his cup-bearer on Mount Olympus.

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

In Latin (via Etruscan) the name was redered 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, s.v. "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.