Trigger Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault.
“You may forget, but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us.” –Sappho
Greece attracts over 30 million tourists every year, many of which are interested in not just the stunning clear blue waters, but the area’s claim to fame as the cradle of western civilization as well. Greece and the wider Mediterranean have a rich cultural history, with great ancient cities, temples, and landmarks that give a backdrop to famous myths, art works, and the birth of philosophy. What might not be as well known about the region is that it has a long history of queer representation as well.
LGBTQ+ representation was by no means perfect in antiquity, but it existed. Despite negative social attitudes at the time and erasure by ensuing generations of cisgendered, heterosexual historians, the stories of queer individuals survive to this day. Even the Greek Pantheon, gods of the region, had many instances of same-sex relationships or gender queer identities. Queerness from ancient times may seem like a far-off dream, but ties to physical places and experiences bring a level of reality to the long history of LGBTQ+ existence.
If you’re willing to walk off the beaten trail – or perhaps, walk on a historically beaten one – here are 5 locations to appreciate how Queerness is Classic.
Queer Roots At Diomedes Botanical Garden
Immortalized in the flower bearing his name, Hyakinthos was the beloved man of not one, but two divine beings – the Sun God, Apollo, and the West Wind, Zephyrus. One day, Apollo and Hyakinthos were throwing around a discus, and Zephyrus, jealous that the other god was getting Hyakinthos’s attention, blew the discus off course. It struck Hyakinthos on the head, killing him. Apollo held him and wept over his lost love. The purple flower named hyacinth bloomed where the tears of Apollo and blood of Hyakinthos met.
The flower we now know as the hyacinth has grown along the Mediterranean since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The bulb of the hyacinth flower, volvoi, is also a popular snack, and can be bought at farmers markets throughout Greece. Now an internationally beloved flower, hyacinths aren’t hard to find.
To see the hyacinth in the land that gave it its name, as well as to honor the tragic queer love story behind it, a trip to the Diomedes Botanical Garden is in order. As the largest botanical garden in the Mediterranean, the Diomedes Botanical Garden spans across 186 hectares or 460 acres and boasts 500 species of flora. The expansive garden fills many roles, providing a scenic walking path as well as a play structure built using old tree trunks. It also serves as a nature sanctuary, protecting local species and providing space for local wildlife. The Diomedes Garden hosts unique collections of plants from around the world, such as the section that includes plant-life as mentioned in mythology and important historical events, such as the fennel that Prometheus used to bring fire to humanity and the species of hemlock used for Socrates’s execution. Take a stroll through the many sections of plants at Diomedes Botanical Garden and remember the hyacinth, whose blooms serve as a reminder of just one ancient gay love story.
Lady-Loving Island of Lesbos
Home of the woman-loving female poet Sappho, the Greek Island of Lesbos is where lesbians got their name. Sappho of Lesbos (who is also the origin of the word “sapphic” to describe queer women) was born around 620 AD to a wealthy family. She played lyre and wrote poetry that revolutionized the art form in Ancient Greece. Sappho was renowned for her skill, her ability to capture the essence of love, inventing her own meter, and daring to write in the first person. She was a part of a community of women involved in the arts on the island, celebrated in sculptures and put on the face of coins.
Sappho was also scorned for loving the same sex, mocked in plays and stories, and later, almost erased, likely because of the unique dialect she wrote in, if not the subject matter. Most of her poetry is lost today, but the 700 lines that remain are charged with strong emotions of love and a clear, timeless representation of what it’s like to be a woman loving women.
Because Sappho’s poetry survives today, it is one of the main sources that represent queer love between women in Ancient Greece. Women were often left out of historical records, and their love was often seen as invalid or unnatural. People believe that Lesbos was more tolerant of female homosexuality, but it is hard to prove. While not a literal island of LGBTQ+ folk, the island of Lesvos (as it is spelled locally) has natural and cultural sights to inspire you today, much like they did Sappho ages ago.
For the sapphic community today the island of Lesvos and Sappho’s hometown of Eressos maintains a special meaning. Described as a counter-culture hotspot on the island, the town of Eressos is a capital for gay women. An annual Women’s Festival is held every September where the many local lesbians and international travelers celebrate a sapphic legacy that began with one poet. If you can’t attend the festival, the capital city of Mytilene has Sappho Square complete with a statue and a mural to make it a great location to pay tribute to the poet known as the Tenth Muse year-round.
There are many ways to enjoy your time on the serene island of Lesbos. Celebrate in the queer scene of Esseros, take a pilgrimage to the International Women’s festival, visit the island’s beaches, petrified forest, or museums. Why not bring a book of queer poetry to read on – or even write your own? Taking the time to remember Sappho and sapphic existence brings a new sense of pride in queer love that has survived for centuries in the face of oppression and erasure – and the beautiful sights don’t hurt!
Tragic Lovers of Troy
If you haven’t already read the heart-wrenching story of Achilles and Patroclus in the classic Iliad accredited to the poet Homer, or the more in-depth, recent version, A Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, a spoiler warning is in order (though you’ve had literal centuries to hear it). Achilles was a demigod, son of a sea nymph and a king, who was blessed with striking beauty, deadly strength, and, in many versions, unpierceable skin besides a weak point on his ankle. His companion and lover, Patroclus fought by his side as the Greek armies attempted to break past the Troy’s wall and retrieve Helen. When Patroclus died, it sent grieving Achilles into a rage that decimated his foes, only stopped by his own death on the fields before Troy.
Though the existence of Achilles and Patroclus may be hard to prove, the city of Troy certainly wasn’t. The ruins of Troy – all 9 layers of the city with 4,000 years of history – were first found in Türkiye in 1870 by archaeologists. Unfortunately, the leader of the excavation damaged the ruins in an attempt to find the city depicted in Homer’s Iliad. There have been efforts to fix the mistakes of the past, and today the ruins of Troy are accessible and outline the ancient city’s way of life. The city and the surrounding area is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is recommended that visitors see both the museum and a guided tour through the ruins to understand the interweaving of different people, cultures, and times that the ruins come from.
Achilles was a celebrated figure known for his immense strength and is widely recognized even today. Great kings and warriors alike used to visit his tomb, which is now lost. Such an outstanding, admired figure, even if fictional, is just one example of how queer people have made an impact on culture and history for ages to come.
Love Shines Brightest in the Dark
Something about Artemis, goddess of the moon, hunt, childbirth, etc. reads as distinctly queer. Maybe it’s the fact that she is a virgin goddess who swore off men and marriage, or it could be the fact that she always traveled with a group of women that wanted to live the same way. When looking throughout her stories in mythology, there are many instances of her close bonds with other women that seem not-entirely-platonic. One example is the goddess’s relationship with her favored companion, Callisto.
The myth states that Callisto and Artemis were close and happy together, which is always a precursor to tragedy in Greek Mythology. Zeus soon spotted Callisto due to her proximity to his daughter, and decided he must have her. He figured the only way to get the devotee close enough to him was to trick her, and so he appeared as Artemis. Callisto walked into his embrace and kissed her goddess, only for Zeus to reveal himself. She was horrified, but it was too late. Zeus forced himself onto her, and Callisto was banished by the goddess she loved so much after her pregnancy was discovered. Hera then turned her into a bear, who then became the constellation Ursa major.
In addition to having the ruins of a temple to Artemis, the island of Ikaria is one of the best places to stargaze in Greece – more specifically, the Erifi Plateau above the rest of the island. The plateau offers a stunning outlook, where visitors can admire the land during the day. Meanwhile, the skies above the plateau at night are some of the darkest you can find in all of Greece, making the stars stand out even more. There are guided tours to the stars and telescopes available for a more intimate viewing. Travelers even have the opportunity to camp beneath the stars.
The story of Artemis and Callisto is tragic and splintered into several variations, as many myths are. However, their bond is immortalized in the constellations above. Callisto rests next to her love, stars nestled by the moon.
Walk in the Footsteps of Caeneus on Centaur’s Trail
Caeneus was born a princess, a beauty of the land who turned away every suitor. Poseidon unfortunately took notice of the young royal. Though some versions of the myth say it was willing, it is more likely that the sea god raped Caeneus. In a twisted way of offering compensation – which was very out of touch with the deep violation of bodily integrity – Poseidon offered to grant any request, and Caeneus wished to become a man. Poseidon fulfilled his request, and additionally gave him impenetrable skin, making Caeneus a near-unbeatable hero.
Hailing from the land of heroes, Thessaly, Caeneus was said to have joined Jason and the Argonauts, as well as assisted in the hunt for the Calydonian boar. He was a hero that similarly met his end in a heroic way. The story goes that the centaurs of Mount Pelion were invited to a banquet where they drank too much and became violent. A fight broke out, sparking a war between the humans and centaurs. Caeneus fought fiercely, killing six centaurs as they tried and failed to pierce his impenetrable skin. In order to take down such an intimidating foe, the centaurs resorted to trickery, crushing Caeneus under collapsed trees to suffocate him. According to some versions of the story, Caeneus emerged from the rubble as a small bird and flew away.
In today’s Pelion, there is a trail going through the woods known as Centaur’s Path. The route takes 1.4 km/0.9 mi and around half an hour to complete. While walking, visitors can expect to see beautiful waterfalls, bridges, and archways in addition to the beauty of the trees. Make sure you wear proper hiking shoes, and prepare to appreciate the nature and myth of this wonderful forest trail.
Queer Existence, Not Queer Invention
These locations, while not as outwardly-celebratory as Pride, are reminders that queer people and queer love has existed since the beginning of humanity. You can find it in the stars and in the flowers that grow, buried with ancient ruins or on a forest path. The world all around you grounds queer identity within its history. Queer people were poets, warriors, gods. So many of them are lost to time or to narrow-minded interpretation, but many remain – not just in Greece, but from ancient civilizations and mythologies from all over the world.
The world today may have made a lot of progress, but for centuries the LGBTQ+ community was marginalized and silenced. It has been a fight for queer individuals to survive over the centuries. Being able to remember them today is a powerful act that defies centuries of erasure. Queer people in the modern day are no stranger to negative reactions to their love, but they can turn back through time to see many instances of when their love was worshipped and captured in art and myth alike to remind them that we have always existed.
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Want to learn more?
Just How Gay Were the Ancient Greeks Really? – Tales of Times Forgotten
Diomedes Gardens: Greece’s largest botanical garden – Greek News Agenda
Athens Walks: Exotic Trees and Plants in the Western Suburbs – Greece Is
The Diomedous Botanical Gardens – Athens Attica
There Is Indeed An Island Of Lesbos, And It Has An Amazing Sapphic Festival – Go Mag
Sappho of Lesbos – World History Encyclopedia
Ancient Troy – HeritageDaily – Archaeology News
The search for the lost city of Troy – British Museum Blog
Welcome to the Interactive Map of the ancient city of Troy
Troy Museum – Turkish Archaeological News
Visiting Troy from Istanbul: Attractions, Tips & Tours – PlanetWare
Ikaria Stargazing – Top Darksky Spots in Greece – Island Ikaria
Ikaria, A Stunning Greek Island of Many Myths – Greek Reporter
Four Reasons to Visit the Island of Ikaria – International Living
Artemis Temple in Ikaria, Greece – Greeka
Ikaria Stargazing Trip – Telescope Viewings – Experience the night sky high atop the mountains. – Ikaria Tours
Mount Pelion’s Beaches are A Top Family Destination – Greek Reporter
