what is halperin's reading of the Aristophanes myth? in one hundred years of homosexuality?

Question

in the book of one hundred years of homosexuality

Answer 1

In ancient Greek society, dominate men would often have sex with young boys, and in general both male and female homosexuality was often the theme of Greek myths and artwork. The basis for Greek sexuality is explained in Aristophanes myth (which you can find in Plato’s Symposium). Aristophanes explains that human beings were once oddly shaped creatures. They had two sets of arms, legs, and genitals, as well as two faces. There were 3 types of these proto-humans: 1) All male, with both sets of genitalia being male; 2) All female, with both sets of genitalia being female; 3) Androgynous, with one set of male genitalia and one set of female genitalia.

The Greek gods and goddesses feared these proto-humans because they were so strange looking. Zeus (king of the Greek gods) didn't want his fellow gods and goddesses fearing mere mortal creatures, so he ordered Apollo to cut the creatures in two. The new humans missed the connection they had with their other half, which is often pointed to as the origin of the Greek idea of 'twin souls' or what we today more commonly call 'soulmates'. Anyway, as you can see, it also gives an explanation (in the Greek mythological sort of way) for the differences we find in human sexual preferences. If you are a male and your solemate is a male, then you are likely to be gay. If you are a male and your soulmate is female, then you are likely to be straight. If you are either male, female, or androgynous and your soulmate is androgynous, then you are likely to be bisexual, and so on.

Of course this is all just mythology, but there is an important point for us modern humans. What we need to notice is that homosexuality as a sexual preference is not necessarily seen as bad or unnatural from every cultural perspective. Homosexuality is not "unnatural" – it is just not what we used to in most modern cultures (mostly do to the historical influences of Judeo-Christian religious beliefs).

Answer 2

properly, it varies. If I make a prophecy that the sunlight will upward thrust on a particular day, quite a few hundred years interior the destiny, i could say the possibilities are particularly good. If I say that guy will set foot on Mars interior the subsequent century, i could say that the possibilities are fairly good. If I say that "the mongoose shall consume the tail of the serpent while the individuals of the crescent wide awake", then i could estimate that there is a competent risk that some interpretation of this could experience a destiny experience. to artwork out the possibilities could prefer a risk type. How could you artwork out the risk for the above examples? Is there any rigorous mathematical type that must be used? What multiplicative set of variations and mixtures could artwork? What modelling of probabilistic aspects could be factored in? possibly this type of type as for sure used, yet unspoken, via the asker of that referred question? :-)