The Isle of Lesbos, and sex tourism in the ancient world ... BBC new doc
The sexual proclivities of ancient Greece is almost as mythologized as their legendary heroes. In fact, the entire Greek pantheon of gods is renowned for its hedonistic sexual antics and exploits. But are we letting exciting myth cloud reality? The truth and ancient history of the Island of Lesbos, long associated with lesbianism, may be very different than most assume. In a new BBC documentary and article, the island is said to have been the location of a busy sex trade – for men!
By reputation ancient Greeks embraced homosexuality, both male and female, but one particular place famous for lesbian trysts, Lesbos, was actually an island where women known for their beauty served a sex trade of men on vacation. In a surprising turn, Lesbos was reportedly the ancient sex tourism capital of the Aegean—for men. Now comes a new BBC documentary that says Lesbos was the ancient equivalent of modern-day Magaluf, a city on Spain’s Mallorca Island notorious for sex tourism, heavy drinking and debauchery.
The Greek Reporter says that the women of Lesbos could not be resisted—but not because of brute force and superior numbers ganging up on hapless inebriates—but because they were so beautiful.
The most famous person who ever lived on Lesbos was the poet Sappho, a woman who celebrated the island’s beautiful women. Very little is known about this artist who lived circa 630 B.C , but her poetry captivates readers 2,000 years after it was written. She is often defined as a lyrist as her writings were intended to be performed accompanied by the lyre. Further, she was an innovator, as she was one of the first poets to write in the first person, making the experience personal and individual. Her works have now become synonymous with female love.
Read more: http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/poet-sappho-isle-lesbos-and-sex-tourism-ancient-world-002975#ixzz3Ymsi3JSo
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In the BBC documentary, former Apprentice star Margaret Mountford traveled to the island and looked around in order to uncover its past. She examined the life of Sappho, an ancient Greek female poet who lived in Lesbos around 600 BC. The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired in ancient times, has been lost; however, her immense reputation has endured through surviving fragments. She often wrote poems that were declarations of her love for other women. -
See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/04/26/lesbos-the-sex-tourism-capital-of-ancient-greece/#sthash.JRd5KzNK.dpuf
