Category:Pederastic heroes and deities

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Divine pederasty is that aspect of religion in which a spiritual entity (such as, in Greek religion, a god or demi-god or divine hero) having the attributes of maleness and maturity "falls in love" with another such spiritual entity having the attributes of male youth and beauty. Thus, pederastic heroes or deities are any such spiritual beings involved in such love affairs. In Greek religion these myths encoded the pedagogic ethics of real-world pederastic relationships which were a defining feature of Greek civilization. The frequent "deaths" of the divine beloveds are thought to have symbolized, for earthly beloved boys, their death to the life of a child and their re-birth as adult members of society.