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Mar 31, 20217 min read

Kallinikos of Crete


Muses, let me sing the song of young Kallinikos of Crete, son of Zoticus, who went to war against the Trojans a five hundred years before the heroes of the Iliad and returned with no geras to keep for himself, but was granted his own victory by the laughter-loving Aphrodite! Sing from the end of his battle, when he began to sail home!

How was brave Kallinikos left without a bride, when Sparta had sacked the city of Araminta, which had many beautiful women? A ship packed full of them had escaped, led by Nikandros, son of Apollo, and his men, who took the women and the young children away on his ship in the midst of the battle instead of staying to fight. While his cowardly cousin, Hyginus, fought near the harbour and captured a fine girl with slim ankles, Arete, Kallinikos fought the strongest soldiers, and encountered scarcely any women.

Ashamed to be home without one of the few war-brides and be laughed at by his cousin, Hyginus, who had received one, he spared the life of a slight servant boy by the name of Charilaos, of about nineteen years to be pose as his war bride so Hyginus would not jeer at him.

Kallinikos brought him home on the voyage, dressing him as a woman, giving him fine clothing and jewellery, and telling everyone his name was Charis, and set him in his house to do women’s tasks, planning to send him away once he began to grow a beard.

And so Charilaos learned to do the tasks a woman would, by spending time with Arete while she wove and worked. While Charilaos do housework woman would, he grew to admire Kallinikos, as he saw him ordering around the servants of the farm while he wove from inside the home. He saw admired Kallinikos’ strength, and Kallinikos saw Charilaos’ clever running of the household, and thought that if he were to actually be a girl, he would make a fine wife. Putting these thoughts out of his head, he commanded the farm workers, and made sure to have a bountiful harvest come fall.

A few months later, when Kallinikos was entertaining his cousin, Hyginus, Hyginus said to Kallinikos, “Arete tells me your Charis is quite an unusual woman.”

Kallinikos began to sweat, for if everyone were to find out the trick that he had played on them, he would be laughed out of Athens.

“Oh? Why would you say that?”

“Arete tells me that Charis knew nothing of even the simplest women’s tasks”

“Poor Charis was sick as a youth, and was in bed so often that she learned scarcely nothing.”

“Is that so?”, the steely-eyed brother asked. “Why don’t you bring her in”

And so Charilaos was called for, and meekly stood at the side of the table.

“How come I’ve never seen you two touch at all?”, Hyginus said. “Do you not find her pleasing to look at? Or are you trying to preserve slave girl’s honour in public?”

“Haven’t I?” Said Kallinikos, and he gestured for the nervous Charilaos to come closer, and kissed him on the cheek, then, overcome with passion, on the mouth.

As they embraced, a dove sent by Aphrodite flew into the windows, shining with the aura of the gods.

And so, it bit a lock of hair from their each of their heads, and from these mixed hairs sprang a dozen fine children. And to this day, lovers of the same gender are blessed by the will of fair Aphrodite.




Analysis

This myth explains the origin of non-heterosexual orientations from an Ancient Greek point of view, showing the beginning of the tradition of pederasty, and explains some aspects of the traditions and rituals surrounding it. The setting is primarily in Crete, which was chosen because it had a documented legal and social conventions on pederasty, which included the possibility of retribution of the boy was mistreated, and evaluation of the young man’s suitor by his friends. (Strabo, Geography, 10.4.21)

The idea that a captive woman was a status symbol, and that someone of superior rank had to have one was taken from the Iliad, where Agamemnon tells Achilles that if he cannot have his concubine, Chryses, he must take another soldiers. (Homer, Iliad, 1.130 - 140) However, since Brieses’s had been personally taken by Achilles, (Homer, Iliad,19.290 - 300) it seems that the warriors would abduct the women for themselves instead of them being distributed to those who were most favored by the leader, or those who had been most honorable in combat. This opens up the possibility that a warrior could end up by chance fighting almost exclusively men and encounter no women to kidnap, while his cousin, Hyginus, who is described as cowardly, would encounter some. This competitive idea of Kleos, and the potential shame of appearing to be bested by the weaker cousin could possibly bring some level of shame upon our hero Kallinikos, leaving him to try something else to preserve his honour.

Kallinikos states that he will have Charilaos sent to another city when his beard begins to grow, presumably so that his peers will not notice that he is male, but this mirrors a later convention of the emphasis on youth of the passive partner, where the adult male suitors will not chase him unless his cheek is smooth, an indication that he may be a young teenager, who is still unable to grow facial hair (Theognis, Elegy and Iambus, 1.1327-1328), and that the youth would later chase after a young man only when he was older. (Theognis, Elegy and Iambus, 1.1329-1334) It seems that there is a short time in which a boy may be the beloved in this type of relationship, after which he must be the active partner, and pursue a younger man(Theognis, Elegy and Iambus, 1.1299-1304).

In Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, Xenophon states that this type of romantic mentor relationship among the Lacedaimonians is strictly non romantic, and that any sexuality is taboo and in the interest of helping the mind of the younger one grow, while others say that in the same city, the sexual element of the relationship is implied. However, he does state that many cities do allow this type of relationship, making it believable that the Lacedaimonians follow the same example. Traditions vary with the cultures, and different Greek cities have different standards of courtship, with Boeotians appearing to have a common law marriage, and other places court by giving gifts (Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 2.12 – 14). A much more spontaneous method of courtship is seen here, for example, when a soldier is willing to sacrifice himself for a handsome boy who is about to be executed, a very interesting take on love at first sight. The executioner decides not to execute the boy after seeing this display(Xenophon, Anabasis, 7.4.7 – 20). The very variable attitude and acceptance towards homosexual behaviour is seen in the text, where Aphrodite blesses same sex couples, but Kallinikos’ cousin, Hyginus, appears to be hostile to it.

Charilaos is also brought to Crete under threat of his life, in a real version of the ritual kidnapping that a boy would undergo as a part of the male lover and beloved dynamic, with the beloved receiving many gifts,social status, and mentoring.The younger one in Crete would receive many gifts, along with he legal minimum of an ox, cup, and military uniform. This is mirrored in the myth with gifts of jewellery. The boy, at the end of about two months time, tells his friends about the experience, and is now legally allowed to get revenge on the man for any transgressions or harm done to him. In this story, the power dynamic between the two is shown, acknowledging that the younger ones safety is at a disadvantage when they are alone in the woods. The “parastathentes”, as the younger, or beloved, was called in Crete, is shown to have a renown that lasts for the rest of his life, and demand for them seems high, for every boy that is handsome or born into a prestigious family is expected to have a relationship of this nature, unless their behavior makes them undesirable. (Strabo, Geography, 10.4.21) In Xenophon’s Symposium, a handsome boy simply relaxing at a party captivates the attention of the whole room. (Xenophon, Symposium, 1.9) The widespread appreciation for men, by men, in areas that allow this type of relationship suggest a different attitude towards sexuality and attraction than we have today. It seems that in some cases attraction was not seen so much as an orientation of the attracted, but a response caused by beauty. However, another soldier, Episthenes of Olynthus, is described as a lover of boys in another text. (Xenophon, Anabasis, 7.4.7) Whether this is a description of an unusual sexual preference, or whether this is an equivalent to calling him a Casanova, is unclear from the translations.

Aphrodite ends up blessing them with two children from locks of their hair. This is similar, and yet also dissimilar from the account of her own birth in according to Hesiod, where she is born from sea foam and the severed testicles of the sky god.(Hesoid, Theogeny. 173) By mirroring the birth of Aphrodite, I wished to symbolize the rebirth of a new type of love, but it did not seem necessary to cut off anything too important, as it would affect the mood of the text, making it seem less pleasant.

While romance between men, similarly to heterosexual romance, seemed to be highly variable as an accepted tradition with associated rituals and practices, the scant amount of documentation for women in romantic relationships leaves something to be desired. Hopefully one day more will be recovered on that topic, whether it be more complete works of Sappho, or works by other women.






Works Cited

Theognis, Elegy and Iambus, Volume I, Translated by J. M. Edmonds. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press. London:William Heinemann Ltd.


Homer, Iliad,Perseus, Translated by Name of Translator A.T. Murray, Ph.D. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.


Strabo, Geography, Perseus, Translated by Horace L. Jones, PhD. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.


Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, Perseus, Translated by E. C. Marchant and G. W. Bowersock. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0032.tlg010.perseus-eng1:2.13, (Accessed March 8th, 2021)


Hesiod, Theogony, Perseus, Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.


Xenophon, Anabasis, Perseus, Translated by Carleton L. Brownson. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.


Xenophon, Symposium. Perseus, Translated by William Heinemann. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd.





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