Ancient Greece: Heteros and Bisexuals

The main feature of sexual relations in ancient Greece is widespread bisexualism. Not only that the woman was considered only as a means of sexual satisfaction of a man, she was also not the only such "means".Another, much more desired object for adult men were young men( necessarily from "free citizens"), specially educated for these purposes. Homosexuality was considered a more refined form of sexual relations, because it was believed that the woman's soul is low, ordinary and not worthy of noble feelings. This theory was developed by ancient Greek philosophers, in particular Plato. Even the soul of a slave was rated higher than the soul of a noble woman. The exception in this respect were the famous hetaera: sophisticated and refined in the art of love, in relations with men they acted on an equal footing. They were respected, they were considered, they were fawning on. They were very educated, superbly educated, and had many talents. Thanks to their high social status and economic independence( high fees for the services of the hetaera were far from everyone could afford) they could even afford to sort out partners. But the tone in society was asked not by hetaera, but by philosophers. And their ideas about sex women simply amaze their. .. let's say, fantasy. So, for example, Hippocrates, the philosopher and father of medicine, believed that the source of sexual pleasure is in the womb, and the male in the vagina of the woman. The uterus was likened to an animal that, without long attention to itself( that is, without a long contact with the male sexual organ), rushed to the thorax and neck and caused breathing difficulties, hysteria and psychological disorders. According to Hippocrates, long sexual abstinence was the cause of such a woman's ailment as Matvei's furiousness. He talked about the presence of a female seed that is in the uterus and which, if not long in contact with the male seed, decomposes, poisoning the female body and causing mental disturbances. Because of this "authoritative" opinion for two thousand years, the main drug from the psychiatric disorders of a woman was considered to be sexual relations with a man.