A Problem in Greek Ethics / Being an inquiry into the phenomenon of sexual inversion, addressed especially to medical psychologists and jurists

The essay investigates the phenomenon of male same-sex attraction in ancient Greece, tracing its presence or absence across epic, lyric, dramatic and philosophical texts and in law and social practice. It distinguishes an elevated, heroic model from vulgar and commercial forms, surveys regional customs—especially Dorian, Spartan and Cretan—and examines institutions such as gymnasia, symposia and age-structured relationships. Myth, art and legal cases are analysed alongside psychological and ethical reflections to show how aesthetic values and social structures shaped attitudes to love, and to account for the cultural transformations that led to its decline.