Features / Classics
What does classical erotica have to do with LGBT+ activism?
Classical erotica (that’s erotica from the Classical age, not exemplary erotica) has been used by LGBT+ thinkers since the Victorian times to justify the naturalism of homosexuality.
The annual John Addington Symonds Celebration event takes place on October 7 and promises a lecture exploring the relationship between the two, from subject leader Dr Jen Grove.
The talk will explore how one Edwardian collector, Edward Warren, used artefacts from ancient Greece and Rome to campaign for the acceptance of same-sex relationships.
EP Warren was an influential collector and early LGBT+ advocate
Warren was particularly influenced by John Addington Symonds and his Greek-inspired idea of male-male love.
While eroding prejudice has been a struggle for centuries, millennia’s ago, there was one big difference. It was not uncommon for men to enjoy relationships with men during the Greek and Roman times, and these ideas have been preserved on artefacts still studied to this day.
Warren is responsible for the preservation of probably the most famous of these pieces, the Warren Cup.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWUhZzOjWY2/
The Warren Cup is a silver drinking vessel dating to the Roman times that depicts homosexuality in three different scenes. Now owned by the British Museum, the cup was once the prized piece in Warren’s personal collection.
This talk will also explore some of the problems of looking to Warren, the objects he collected, and the type of ancient relationship he was inspired by – between older and younger partners – for LGBT+ activism and education today.
The lecture will take place in The Old Council Chamber is on the first floor of the Wills Memorial Building. Entry to the event is free but register for a ticket first. This is the Fourth Annual John Addington Symonds Celebration event in collaboration with the University of Bristol’s Institute of Greece, Rome, and the Classical Tradition (IGRCT).
Read more: Play a part in Talking LGBT+ Bristol
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