The first gay graffiti in history? Researchers reveal large phalluses carved into rocks in Greece
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A wild and windy rock on an Aegean island has revealed what experts say is some of the earliest gay erotic art ever found.
Researchers found two giant phalluses and a stream of steamy text carved into rocks on the Aegean island of Astypalaia.
The inscriptions talk about two men mounting each other, and the find is is described as 'very, very rare.'
The oldest erotic grafitti in the world on Astypalaia also highlighted the extent of literacy at a time when the Acropolis in Athens had yet to be built. Credit: Helena Smith for The Guardian
WHERE IT WAS FOUND
Astypalaia is a Greek island with just under 1500 residents.
It belongs to the Dodecanese, an island group of twelve major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea.
Astypalaia's treaty with Rome, made in 105 B.C., has survived in an inscription found on the island.
It states The Astypalaians would not aid the enemies of the Romans or allow such enemies passage through their territory, and likewise the Romans would not aid the enemies of the Astypalaians or allow such enemies passage through their territory; in case of an attack on Astypalaia the Romans would come to its aid, in case of an attack on Rome the Astypalaians would come to its aid; etc.
Dr Andreas Vlachopoulos of the University of Ioannina told The Guardian the art was clearly homosexual.
'They claimed their own space in large letters that not only expressed sexual desire but talked about the act of sex itself,' he told the Guardian.
'And that is very, very rare.'
'We know that in ancient Greece sexual desire between men was not a taboo..
The inscriptions date from the fifth and sixth centuries BC, and it is believed were near to a soldier's garrison.
One inscription, believed to have been carved in the mid-sixth century BC, proclaimed: 'Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona (Νικασίτιμος οἶφε Τιμίονα)'.
Other rock art found at the site include carvings depicting oared ships, daggers and spirals – all still discernible despite exposure to the erosive effects of wind and sea.
The inscriptions and large phalluses carved into Astypalaia's rocky peninsula at Vathy.
Found overlooking the Bay of Vathy on the island's north-western tip, the inscription has led the archaeologist to believe that soldiers may once have been garrisoned in the area.
Astypalaia is best known for its ancient cemeteries of mass graves containing the remains of newborn infants.
At Kylindra, on the west flank of the castle hill, a unique graveyard has been excavated by the Greek archaeological service.
At least 2700 newborns and small children were buried in ceramic pots between approximately 750 B.C. and Roman times.
Astypalaia is a Greek island with just under 1500 residents - and could now be home to the world's first homosexual erotic art
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