Quote:
Originally Posted by Michaelangelica
I guess (?) you are saying that those with the power, get the power to rape?
I would imagine that Ancient Spartan society was totally predicated, upheld and only possible because of institutionalized homosexuality
So to the Catholic Church over the last 500 years??
As for the Republican party well. . .?
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Hello Michaelangelica,
The ancient Greeks had very similar elite philosophies, Athenian or Spartan, that could be attributed to the abuse of power that occurs during politically motivated confrontations. Even Thucydidies, in his history of the Pellopenesian war, refers to the Athenians moving from the rule of 5000 (their original democracy) to the rule of 400 (our modern democracy) towards the latter stages of the war, even though their eventual loss resulted in the rule of 40 (our post modern 'cabinet' oligarchy).
The main point to be gained in the war between Athens and Sparta is how their allies were treated. Those minor states who couldn't supply the required ships or the alternate hefty payments insisted on by the Athenians were relegated to the status of vassal or slave states. It's no wonder that the actions of the Athenians themselves, in their terrible treatment of their 'allies' drove many of these states directly into the hands of the Spartans.
Incidentally enough, considering the topic, the Lesbian people from the island of Lesbos were punished by having all the male members of their society executed for their lack of faith to their democratic masters.
It just boils down to the old absolute power corrupts absolutely, homosexuality only comes into the picture because that was the elites 'preference' of the time.
The point I was trying to make about Aristophanes is that he couldn't get his play 'the clouds' right because of the greek cultures failure to come to terms with how a democracy treats its allies, therefore he could call the elites 'faggots' (the term used in the Penguin translation) but he could not work out just exactly what Right had to do to win the argument against Wrong.
IMHO the answer relates to 'do unto others as you would have others do unto you', a method for apportioning punishment for transgressions.
