Lesbian Love

vol. XII p.2100-2102

Lesbian Love

Many incorrect ideas have been popularised about this theme, which serious research has to fight against, even at the danger of digging up dirty things. This is how eg. Blüher Die Rolle der Erotik in der männlichen Gesellschaft II (Jena 1920) 124 speaks about ‘Lesbians’. <40>

First, it has to be cleared up that λεσβίζειν or λεσβιάζειν didn’t mean female homosexual acts in antiquity, but rather it meant μολῦναι τὸ στόμα ie. fellare. Ail. Dionys. 87, 1 Schw. λεσβίσαι⋅ τὸ αἰσχρῶς μολῦναι τὸ στόμα⋅ Λέσβιοι γὰρ διεβάλλοντο. Hesych. s. λεσβιάζειν⋅ πρὸς ἄνδρα στοματεύειν⋅ Λεσβιάδας γὰρ τὰς λαικαστρίας (Pherekr. frg. 149) ἔλεγον (cf. s. λεσβίσαι). cf. with regards to that the comedic sources, which eg. M. Göbel Ethnica (Breslau 1915) 85 cites (Aristoph. Wasp. 1345 to a female flute player: <50> ὁρᾷς ἐγώ σ’ ὡς δεξίως ὑφειλόμην μέλλουσαν ἤδη λεσβιᾶν τοὺς ξυμπότας etc.). Clearly, Galen XII 249 K καὶ μεῖζόν γε ὄνειδός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ σωφρονοῦντι κοπροφάγον ἀκούειν ἢ αἰσχρουργὸν ἢ κίναιδον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν αἰχρουργῶν μᾶλλον βδελυττόμεθα τοὺς φοινικίζοντας τῶν λεσβιαζόντων, where φοινικίζειν = cunnum lingere. Lukian Pseudol. 28 τί πάσχεις, ἐπειδὰν κἀκεῖνα λέγωσιν οἱ πολλοί, λεσβιάζειν σε καὶ φοινικίζειν; is directed to a man. It should be noted here that this type of sexual act, <60> wherein the os et lingua are involved, is summarised by the name ἀρρητοποιεῖν and αἰσχρουργεῖν, which - outside of the Lexika - the astrologers offer evidence for (eg. Rhetor. Catal. cod. astrol. VIII 4, 194) -- details especially in Catullus and Martial: this is the result of the common pederasty (see there) wasn’t felt to be αἰσχρόν or ἄρρητον. <page break 2100/2101> For the same reason, in Ptol. tetr. IV 4 fol. 48^v 9 the ἀσελγεῖς ( = αἰσχροποιοί) is like a heightening of πρὸς τὸ διαθεῖναι καὶ διατεθῆναι πάντα τρόπον πρόχειροι, that is, pederasty and cinaedus.

Accusations against Sappho were first made rather late (Aly in vol. I A p. 2361. 2377); the first sign of this is in Ovid, who has her say in epist. 15, 18 Atthis . . . atque aliae centum, quas hic (or non) sine crimine amavi. Nobody has any further doubts that the mascula Sappho Horat. ep. I 19, 28 - which was interpreted in an erotic sense by ancient explainers - should be understood differently. <10> The ancients knew nothing of this accusation; it’s nevertheless possible, however, that, in her relationship to her female students, there was a latent voluptuousness playing a role. It could well be that the rumours about Sappho in connection with the term λεσβίζειν prompted Lukian to change the homosexual woman from his fifth dialogue of the courtesans to be a Lesbian; <20> though a link wasn’t ever made to Lesbos. Perhaps it can be concluded from the epigram of Asklepiades Anth. Pal. V 206, which accuses two women from Samos[?] of Lesbian love, that the women there were thus ill-famed, especially when you compare Plut. qu. Gr. 54, according to which Dexikreon, through magic, ὑπὸ τρυφῆς καὶ ὕβεως ἀκόλαστα ποιούσας . . . ἀπήλλαξεν the women from Samos[?] (v. Wilamowitz Sappho 72). Paignia of the obscene contents of a so-called Lesbian woman Salpe: Diehl see vol. I A p. 2007. <30>

Lesbian love is of course famous, but it plays just a minor role as in modern times, like pederasty. Whether the lines on Parmenides frg. 18 D. have anything to do with Lesbian love is very dubious to me; Parmenides seems only to think about men (cf. A 54 and Diel’s Poet. philos. 72). The fact that the vases, despite their love for obscene pictures, never portray Lesbian love, <40> is noticed by G. Körte in v. Wilamowitz 72. Plat. symp. 191 E, which deals with the connection between Parmenides and the theory of homosexuality, as later Phaedr. IV 15, knows the term ἑταιρίστρια for women assumed to be homosexual, which Lukian. dial. mer. 5, 2 probably owes to him; also, τριβάς is a possible term for that, eg. Ptolem. tetrab. III 18f. 44^r 33 (ed. 1535). Maneth. IV 358 πόρνας τριβάδας τ’ ἀνδρόστροφα ἔργα τελούσας. Phaedr. IV 15. Martial. VII 67 paedicat pueros tribas Philaenis. <50> VII 70 ipsarum tribadum tribas Philaenis. Tert. de pall. 4 g E. de res. carn. 16, the word is translated by frictrix; and also the insult subigitatrix Plaut. Pers. 227 is used here. Lukian. amor. 28 speaks of τριβακὴ (-αδικὴ?) άσέλγεια, in which he explicitly describes them as rare. τρίβειν is likely to be meant in the same sense here as in Aristoph. Wasp. 1344, that is, in reference to masturbatio mutua, and perhaps also Herond. 6, 82 is to be understood in this way. <60> More precise descriptions are understandably not found, and also Lukian. dial. mer. 5 remains unclear, whether intentionally or through a lack of knowledge; if the ‘tribas’ there says ἔχω γάρ τι ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀνδρείου, then the σκυτίνη ἐπικουρία (Aristoph. Lys. 110. Herond. 6, cf. vol. III p. 150) could be meant by that. The sophist Hybreas certainly thought about that, about whom Sen. contr. I 2, 23 reports <page break 2101/2102> de illo, qui tribadas deprehendit et occidit (found his wife in the arms of another woman), describere coepit mariti adfectum, in quo non deberet exigi inhonesta disquisitio: ἐγὼ δ’ ἐσκόπησα πρότερον τὸν ἄνδρα, εἰ ἐγγεγένηταί τις ἢ προσέρραπται (the text is unclear; what is meant, is that he is examining the manly ‘tribads’ utrum penem natura habeat, an adsuerit). Most people exaggerate, partly to get the punchline[?] with regards to which there is lack of knowledge of the real events. <10> So Mart. I 90, 6 at tu, pro facinus, Bassa fututor eras. inter se geminos audes committere cunnos mentiturque virum prodigiosa Venus and VII 67, where meaning is first taken from Philaenis tentigine saevior mariti undenas dolat in die puellas, then - and more correctly - non fellat-putat hoc parum virile- sed plane medias vorat puellas. The case in which a pair joined by Lesbian love behaved openly as a legitimate married couple is mentioned by Ptol. tetr. III 18f. 44^v 2 (similarly in Moll 330ff.). <20>

This matter is also mentioned in Artemidor’s dream book I 80 (γυνὴ γυναῖκα ἐὰν περαίνῃ and ἐὰν ὑπο γυναικὸς περαίνηται) and by the astrologers; outside of the already cited sources, see Ptol. 49^r 9 πρὸς τὸ διατιθέναι καὶ γυναῖκας sc. καταφερεῖς. Maneth. I 31. III 330. V 216. Catal. cod. astrol. V 2, 145. VIII 4. 159, 1. Firmic. III 6, 15. 20. 30. VII 25, 1. But it can’t be overlooked that here, the system almost forces such prophecies, <40> and hence no conclusions about the commonness of the matter can be made. Otherwise, cf. further around Plat. leg. I 636c. Paul. ad Rom. 1, 26. Hor. epod. 5, 41.

Welcker Kl. Schriften II 80. v. Wilamowitz Sappho 63. Ellis-Symonds Das konträre Geschlechtsgefühl 184. A. Moll Die konträre Sexualempfindung², Berlin 1893, 322. Ploss-Bartel’s Das Weib¹⁰ (Leibzig 1913) I 596.

[W. Kroll.]