Editing Eromenos (section)

== Characteristics ==
In vase paintings and other artworks, the ''eromenos'' is often depicted as a beautiful young adult. His relatively small stature suggests his passive role in the relationship and younger age as well as social status. Usually, they show a combination of a youthful-looking face with a body which possesses mature musculature. The lack of beard and pubic hair are an important clue in identifying an ''eromenos'', though this may possibly be attributed to style. A poem quoted in ''Greek Sexuality'' (couplet 1327f) shows that ‘the poet will never cease to ‘fawn on’ the boy so long as the boy's cheek is hairless.<ref name=":0" />

Therefore, it may be concluded that ''eromenos'' is not a fixed term, as it is only a stage in the development of young Greek men. After they grow up, their relationship with the ''erastes'' could end and they could get married or start another relationship. This experience, similar to some forms of socially-constructed bisexuality, is also shown in books, such as how [[Bion the Borysthenite]] condemns Alcibiades, ''that in his adolescence he drew away the husbands from their wives, and as a young man the wives from their husbands.'' <ref>{{Cite book|last=Foucault|first=Michel|title=The History of Sexuality|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1978|location=New York|pages=188}}</ref> According to Garrison, for Cretan boys, the passage to adulthood is the ‘prewedding’ of sex with a mature man.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Garrison|first=Daniel H.|title=Sexual Culture in Ancient Greece|publisher=Sexual Culture in Ancient Greece|year=2000|location=Norman|pages=164}}</ref>