Learn about several different cultures in Greece and Italy—in which same-sex love was important—and the artworks in which they celebrated it, hosted by LGBT history expert Professor Andrew Lear.
Cost: $10. Please note that this fee helps keep our small business going during the crisis so we can get up and running right away when it is safe to bring people together again in person.
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gay-gods-and-heroes-of-the-ancient-world-tickets-112259990654
Come learn about the long gay history of two of the world's most beautiful and fascinating countries, Greece and Italy. We will learn about several different cultures—Ancient Greek, Etruscan, ancient Roman, Renaissance Florentine—in which same-sex love was important—and the artworks in which they celebrated it. In this hour-long virtual talk via Zoom (with time for questions!), Professor Lear will do a "show and tell" about:
Zeus and his boyfriend Ganymede
the poet Sappho and her female loves
the Uncle Sam of the Athenian democracy (a male couple of course!)
the great gay regiment of Classical Greece
the "Hermaphrodite" and self-castrating priests (intersex? trans?)
the Emperor Hadrian and the young man he declared a god
the birth (possibly) of sexual identity in Renaissance Florence
Lord Byron and his complicated love life in Athens
Capri in its years as Europe's Provincetown
and much more!
More about our speaker: Professor Andrew Lear holds a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from UCLA. He has published a widely praised book on male-male love in ancient Greek art, as well as a number of important scholarly articles in this area. Indeed he is generally considered one of the foremost experts on same-sex love in the ancient world, but his interest in gay history extends to other key periods, such as fin-de-siècle England, Renaissance Italy, and medieval Japan—places and periods that we will explore at Oscar Wilde Tours.
A beloved teacher at Harvard, Columbia and NYU, Professor Lear won the Harvard Certificate for Excellence in Teaching four times. He has taught a wide variety of courses in Classics, history, art history, and gender studies—as well as Italian and French language classes.
His courses on sexuality in the ancient world have been particularly popular. Many years after graduating, students still take the time to let him know how much they appreciated his personal warmth, his passion for teaching, and the sense of fun that he brings to his classes.
Professor Lear brings all those qualities to Oscar Wilde Tours, along with twenty years of experience organizing and leading group tours. With his vast cultural background, his detailed knowledge of gay history and his long experience of travel, Professor Lear strives to provide our guests with a vacation that is intellectually stimulating, culturally rewarding and, above all, fun!
Read Professor Andrew Lear’s official Wikipedia biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Lear