A Problem in Greek Ethics: Paiderastia (Forgotten Books)

John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) was considered the first and foremost 19th century British homosexual writer to"put the facts on record." He will always be renowned for his monumental seven-volume Renaissance in Italy, the first full-scale study of the subject in English. His A Problem in Greek Ethics was first written in 1873 and first published in 1883 in an edition of only 10 copies, and comprised the earliest published defense of homosexuality in the English language. Symonds here reviews the development of homosexual activity in ancient Greece. Poet, essayist, and literary historian, he delved into every field of the humanities. The present work led to a collaboration with Havelock Ellis in the first volume of Studies in the Psychology of Sex. Symonds is remembered for his untiring efforts to loosen the restraints on homosexuals in England, and his Memoirs are the only diary of a Victorian homosexual of his stature.… (more)