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Classical Literature
Augustine of Hippo
Although same-sex friendships played a more important role in his emotional and personal life than relationships with women, his hostility to all forms of nonprocreative sexuality caused Augustine to condemn homosexuality.
Bisexual Literature
Although Western culture's reliance upon binary systems of classification and identification has meant the practical erasure of bisexuality, as such, from literary and cultural analysis, bisexual experiences appear in many literary works from ancient times to the present.
Catullus
The Roman poet Catullus incorporated homoerotic themes in his verse, both reflecting the passionate character of same-sex friendships and describing several of his own homosexual adventures.
Classical Mythology
The Greco-Roman myths concerning same-sex love have been of crucial importance to the Western gay and lesbian literary heritage, both as texts and as icons.
Comedy of Manners
The Comedy of Manners, which flourished on the Restoration stage, has been particularly amenable to twentieth-century gay male writers as a vehicle for social satire in both dramatic and nondramatic works.
Elegy
A poetic response to the death of a greatly loved person, the elegy has had since classical times a homoerotic component.
Erotica and Pornography
Erotic and pornographic works have been written in many cultures since ancient times and recently have flourished with the relaxation of censorship.
Greek Literature: Ancient
Ancient Greece holds a unique place in the heritage of homosexual literature as it was a society that openly celebrated same-sex love in its poetry and prose.
Horace
In his highly accomplished and influential poetry, Horace reflects the easy bisexuality of the Roman upper class in the first century B. C.
Juvenal
The works of satirist Juvenal are crucial for exploring attitudes toward (homo)sexuality in ancient Rome.
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