Ancient graffiti depicting gay sex found in Greece
By Josh Haggis
An archaeologist in Greece has uncovered ancient artwork celebrating gay sex, in what is thought to be some of the oldest graffiti in the world.
Dr Andreas Vlachopoulos, a researcher at the University of Ioannina, found inscriptions discussing gay sex next to carvings of large phalluses on the Aegean island of Astypalaia.
It is believed that the graffiti, which depicts a sexual relationship between two males named Nikasitimos and Timiona, dates back to the fifth and sixth centuries B.C.
Photograph courtesy of The Guardian
Explaining the significance of the artwork to The Guardian, Vlachopoulos noted that the “large letters” used “not only expressed sexual desire but talked about the act of sex itself. And that is very, very rare”.
“We know that in ancient Greece sexual desire between men was not a taboo,” Vlachopoulos added. “But [the graffiti] clearly says that these two men were making love over a long period of time, emphasising the sexual act in a way that is highly unusual in erotic artwork”.
Meanwhile, a much more modern piece of homoerotic artwork has recently been unveiled – check out this smartphone charger shaped like a life-size male torso.