If most of the Greeks and Romans including Caesar were bi-sexual and pedophiles, is Western civ flawed?

Answer 1

maybe not flawed per say...but definitely warped. seems that the Greeks, not the Romans had little complaint with men, they only had relations with women because they had to, life would not have continued. HTe reason is because they felt that women were inferior, that they were not warriors nor were they able to perform all of the same tasks, therefore, they were considered not good enough for a Greek man. in fact the only one good enough was another Greek man of equal caliber.

Answer 2

If that was the case, then perhaps. Luckly, that isn't the case, and so, at least on this point, Western Civ isn't flawed.

See, the problem with the Greeks is that very few authors survive, and of those only one (Plato) was probably homosexual (to use an anachronistic term), whereas the others generally held very anti-women views that can be mistakenly interpreted as homosexual. The very fact that homosexuality was still used by Greek society as a general attack on an individuals character (ranking a bit below offending the gods) indicates that it wasn't as wide spread or accepted as modern society likes to sometimes portray it.

As for the Romans, they were prudes too. Sure, their Emperors got around (and mind, you have to say WHICH Caesar when you say "Caesar," it was a title after all), but most of the records containing such were written by people who hated said Emperor (Tacitus' dislike of Tiberius and Agripina in general, for example).

Sexual deviency was still generally hidden in Roman society, promisquity was only mildly accepted (and not at all for Civil Servents, that could ruin a career). However, the Romans were also obsessed with all things old, so if you came from an old family almost anything could be overlooked.

Answer 3

how can you compare ancient cultures to this one? greek men mentored greek boys. the romans slept with just about anyone they wanted to and that was ok. this culture is so uptight and stifled you cant compare the two.

Answer 4

Every civilization has it's flaws that's just life.