Editing Eromenos (section)

== Representation ==
=== Visual art ===
[[File:Ganymede with a hoop.jpg|thumb|[[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]] rolling a hoop and bearing aloft a [[cockerel]], a love-gift from Zeus, early fifth century B.C., Musée du Louvre.]]
The image of Ganymede in the figure on the right is an idealized portrait of an ''eromenos''. The muscles on his body contrasts with the hoop, a child's toy which emphasises the shape of his genitals and inner thighs, and he holds the cockerel, which is the love gift from Zeus. There is no moustache or pubic hair.

John Beazley's three types of erotic scenes appear in Athenian vase paintings. ''Eromenoi'' are often touched on chin and genitals by their ''erastes'' (alpha group), presented with gifts (beta group) or entwined between the thighs of their ''erastes'' (gamma group).<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Percy|first=William|title=Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece|publisher=Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece|year=1996|location=Urbana|pages=119}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Eva Cantarella]] discovered that representations of [[Pederasty|pederastic]] relationships contain two successive moments of courtship. The first phase is similar to Beazley's alpha group, while in the second phase the ''eromenos'' stands behind the ''erastes'' with his penis between his thighs, somehow similar to the gamma group.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cantarella|first=Eva|author-link=Eva Cantarella |title=Bisexuality in the Ancient World|publisher=Bisexuality in the Ancient World|year=1994|location=New Haven|pages=25}}</ref>
This vase (Brygos Painter) depicts a classical scene of an ''erastes'' courting an ''eromenos''. As the ''eromenos''’ legs are positioned between the ''erastes''’ thighs with the ''erastes'' touching his penis and his chin, it is similar to the alpha group. The pectoral and belly muscles show that he was well-trained in wrestling schools, and the bag of ‘Kydonian apples’ or quinces is a sign of his sexual awakening.<ref name=":4" />

Dover and Gundel Koch-Harnack have argued that the gift-giving scene to the ''eromenos'' is in fact a courting scene.<ref name=":5" /> Common gifts include a sprig of flowers, a rabbit, and a fighting cock.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Masterson|first=Mark|title=Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World. Rewriting Antiquity|last2=Sorkin|first2=Nancy|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|location=New York|pages=103}}</ref>

=== Poems and literature ===
The love for an ''eromenos'' is a frequent topic in Ancient Greek poems. Dover studied poems related to pederasty and quoted some verses expressing love to the eromonos, ‘O boy with the virginal eyes, I seek you, but you do not listen, not knowing that you are the charioteer of my soul!’<ref name="ReferenceA">Dover, ''Greek Homosexuality'', 84.</ref> Also, A surviving fragment of Solon from the early sixth century B.C. writes that ‘Till he loves a lad in the flower of youth, bewitched by thighs and by sweet lips.’ <ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The graffiti of Thera verified that anal penetration was normal in pederastic relationships, for in the inscriptions, Krimon used the verb ''oiphein'' (male sexual act performed as either active or passive partner in Dorian dialect) to describe the intercourse with his ''eromenos'', which indicates anal penetration.<ref name=":1">Cantarella, Bisexuality in the ''Ancient World'', 26-27.</ref> Also, literature suggested that the charm of the ''eromenos'' lay in his attractive anal area, which was described by various metaphors such as rosebud, fruits, figs or gold.<ref name=":1" />

It is noteworthy that most of the Greek verses about homosexuality were about how the ''erastes'' longed for the ''eromenos'', but few were written from the perspective of the ''eromenos''.

=== Myths ===
[[Image:The Death of Hyacinthos.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''[[The Death of Hyacinthos]]'' (1801) by [[Jean Broc]]. [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinth]] (left) has been killed by the discus at his feet thrown by [[Apollo]] (right).]]
The ''erastes-eromenos'' relationship can be not only between humans but also between humans and gods. The love between [[Apollo]] and [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinth]] was said to have been the archetype of pederasty in Sparta. Apollo fell in love with Hyacinth on account of his youthful beauty, and became his instructor in archery, music, hunting and the gymnasium. Hyacinth was killed by the discus thrown by Apollo when studying discus-throwing with him, and in some versions of myths it was [[Zephyrus|Zephyr]] (the god of the west wind) who also loved Hyacinth, and who disturbed the wind to cause this accident.

Though usually known as the mortal lover of Aphrodite, [[Adonis]] was said to be loved by other gods such as Apollo, Heracles and Dionysus, for his youth and beauty.