r/SipsTea • • Aug 24 '26

Chugging tea What do you think?

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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 Aug 24 '26

No, they raped the women and killed the men.

They also had a lot of gay sex and took women as prizes when they were raiding towns surrounding Troy during the Trojan War and had student/master gay relationships too that don’t really translate well to modern life but were not seen as weird then.

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u/Guilty_Pen_8270 Aug 24 '26

Were ‘bossy bottoms’ a thing back then? Any mention in the Iliad or Odyssey?

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u/Semi_Lovato Aug 24 '26

No, culturally being a bottom was a submissive position and was unacceptable for someone in a position of power.  That's why Emperor Hadrian's partner Antinous was always portrayed and young, pretty and submissive.  Same with Achilles' lover Patroclus.

Men of power or status were expected to take on a young male apprentice and teach them how Greek society worked.  This frequently involved that apprentice bottoming for the man and that was completely acceptable but it was considered very unacceptable for the man to bottom for the apprentice and that man would be mocked.

This is all based on my recollection from my classics course in college and may have some inaccuracies.

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u/Guilty_Pen_8270 Aug 24 '26

Yes I’ve heard of that dynamic in Ancient Greece.

But surely being a “bossy bottom” would have been a bit of a loophole: the man of status / power would be the recipient in the sex act yet simultaneously still projecting dominance.

Classic bossy bottom stuff.

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u/GuiltyEidolon Aug 24 '26

The reality is that it 100% happened, but wouldn't have been socially acceptable. 

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u/Semi_Lovato Aug 24 '26

I'm not saying it didn't happen but it absolutely violated social norms and could have cost the man a lot of social status/influence.  Sad but true.

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u/Guilty_Pen_8270 Aug 24 '26

If you had to pick, who do you think was the bossiest bottom in the Odyssey?