Ganymede
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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 Latin (via Etruscan) the name was rendered as "Catamitus", hence the more common term Catamite.
References
- ↑ Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts, 1949, article headed "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.
- ↑ 2.0 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.
