Eromenos

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Symposium scene — men reclining with their eromenoi, and playing kottabos

Man and youth at a gymnasium; Athenian red-figure kylix (530-430 BCE).

In the pederastic tradition of Classical Athens, the eromenos (Greek ἐρώμενος, pl. "eromenoi") was an adolescent boy who was in a love relationship with an adult man, known as the erastes (ἐραστής). The relationship was typically portrayed as being of a pedagogical nature and while it was also typically affectionate and passionate, it was not necessarily sexual. When present, sexual expression is depicted in the iconography as having consisted primarily of fondling and intercrural sex. Anal sex appears to have been less common, yet frequent enough to be a topic of comedy, and of criticism based on the opinion that it was a practice which was shameful^[1] and risked feminizing the boys who grew to like it.

The term for the role often varied from one polis to another. In Athens, the eromenos was also known as the paidika; in Sparta they used aites (hearer); in Crete the boys were known as kleinos (glorious) and if they had fought in battle with their lover, as parastathenes (one who stands beside).

The eromenos was valued for his beauty, but even more for his modesty, industriousness and courage. In Plato's Symposium, it described eromenoi as the "best" boys and their characteristic was that "they love men and enjoy living with men and being embraced by men."

Upon reaching the age of maturity (ca. eighteen years), the eromenos would cut his long hair and become eligible for taking on the role of erastes and courting and winning an eromenos of his own.

"Eromenos" is traditionally translated into English as "beloved", although this is not a perfect match for the concept.