Mythology of same-sex love

Religious narrative has included stories interpreted by many as accounts of same-sex love and sexuality. Other myths contain LGBT references. Among surviving examples are:

List of myths associated with same-sex love

Arranged by continent of origin of the religion. Entries of names specific partners are alphabetical.

Africa

Egypt

*Ash and Set
*Horus and Set

The Americas

Asia and the Middle East

Babylonia

*Enkidu and Gilgamesh

Biblical

*David and Jonathan

China

Japan

*Ōkuninushi (大国主) and Sukunabikona or Sukunahikona (少名毘古那神 or 少彦名神)
*Takemikazuchi ( タケミカヅチ; 建御雷之男神 建御雷神 ) and Takeminakata ( タケミナカタ, 建御名方神 たけみなかたのかみ）
*Monju, Monju Bosatsu; Manjusri (Monju 文殊 or Monju-shiri 文殊師利菩薩)
*Jizō, Jizō Bosatsu; Ksitigarbha (Jizō 地蔵, Jizo-o Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩)
*Kannon, Syō Kannon Bosatsu (聖観音菩薩); Avalokiteśvara　
*Aizen Myō-ō (愛染明王 or 愛染妙王)
*Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王); Acala　　　　
*Shudō Daimyōjin (衆道大明神); Patron God of shudo (衆道)] [cite book |author=Pflugfelder, Gregory |title=Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600-1950 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=2000 ]

Europe

Christian

*Saints Sergius and Bacchus
*Saints Cosmas and Damiancite book |author=Jordan, Mark D. |title=The silence of Sodom: homosexuality in modern Catholicism |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=2000 |isbn=0-226-41041-2 on the nature of "brotherly love", p.174]

Celtic

Greece

*Abderus and Heracles
*Achilles and Patroclus
*Achilles and Troilus
*Ameinias and Narcissus
*Apollo and Hyacinth
*Apollo and Hymenaios
*Artemis (Zeus in the form of Artemis) and Callisto
*Chrysippus and Laius
*Daphnis and Pan
*Euryalus and Nisus
*Zeus and Ganymede
*Hermaphroditos
*Heracles and Hylas
*Heracles and Iolaus
*Ianthe and Iphis
*Poseidon and Pelops
*Orpheus and the Thracians
**Orpheus and Calais(Kalais, one of Boreads )

Norse

List of LGBT related deities and myths

Listed in alphabetical order, with culture of origin noted and statement of how it relates to LGBT.
*Ahsonnutli, in Navaho tradition, a bisexual creator god
*Anteros, Greek god of unrequited love, was also a term used for the love which arises in the beloved boy in a pederastic relationship.
*Amazons, in Greek mythology, a nation of warrior women
*Asiaq, in Inuit mythology, the deity of storms, generally portrayed as female, but sometimes as male
*Atea and Fakahotu a Polynesian god and goddess who change sexes when their son dies of hunger
*Chin (Mayan god), Mayan god of homosexuality
*Eros, Greek god of sexual love of all types
*Freyr, a Norse god of fertility, may have been worshipped by a group of homosexual or effeminate priests, as suggested by Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum and later by Dumézil [Dumézil, Georges. From Myth to Fiction: the Saga of Hadingus. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1970. (p115)]
*Grettir, an Icelandic hero, had a voracious sexual appetite and was said to have slept with men, women and animals alike.Fact|date=October 2007
*Hu Tianbao, Chinese god of homosexuality
*Loki, a Norse trickster god, who frequently disguises himself as a woman and has given birth, (whilst in the form of a white mare, he took a 'passive' role in a homosexual/bestial encounter with the stallion) Svadilfari, resulting in his giving birth to the foal Sleipnir.
*Mandulis, a Nubian sky deity, pictured as male, with pendulous breasts
*Mawu-Lisa, a depiction of the creator deity in Dahomey tradition presented as both male and female
*Nana Buluku the androgynous supreme deity of the Dahomey
* Odin is mentioned as a practitioner of "seiðr", a form of magic considered shameful for men to perform, so was reserved for women. It is possible that the practice of "seiðr" involved passive sexual rites [ [http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/gayvik.shtml Viking Answer Lady Webpage - Homosexuality in Viking Scandinavia ] ] .
*Ometeotl, the Aztec master of duality, considered both male and female
*Tiresias, a male Greek prophet who was turned into a woman for 7 years

poken-word versions - audio files

*Achilles and Patroclus
*Apollo and Hyacinth
*Chrysippus and Laius
*Ganymede and Zeus
*Heracles and Hylas
*Narcissus
*Orpheus
*Pelops and Poseidon

ee also

*Religion and homosexuality
*Native American Two-spirit traditions

Footnotes

Bibliography

Bernard Sergent
* "Homosexuality in Greek Myth"
* "L'homosexualité initiatique dans l'Europe ancienne"
Andrew Calimach
* "Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths"
* "Lovers' Legends Unbound"Conner, Sparks & Sparks
* "Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit"

External links

* [http://members.aol.com/matrixwerx/glbthistory/glbtmythology.htm GLBT mythology, links and references]
* [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/ Greek Mythology] The secret Greek myths of male love, ancient coming-of-age rituals, uncensored and developed.
* [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Culture/NativeAmerica/amerindian.htm The Two-Spirit Tradition] essay on male love and same-sex marriage in Native American shamanic religion.
* [http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/ancient_greeks.htm Homosexuality and the Ancient Greeks]