Early Indian Civilization Indigenous preAyran Indian cultures IndoAyran
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Early Indian Civilization
• • Indigenous (pre-Ayran) Indian cultures Indo-Ayran migration Sanskrit Vedas Upanishads jati (caste) dharma
Bogus “Aryans”
Real Aryans
Greece Mesopotamia Egypt Indus Ganges
Greece Mesopotamia Egypt Indus Ganges
Gender Relations and Patriarchy
• What was the “original” male-female relationship? • Gender roles – biologically determined? • When does “social construction” become important?
• Does religion require or reflect/reinforce ? • Evidence: – Hammurabi – Leviticus – Indian culture • Kama Sutra - sexuality embraced – Greek culture • Homophrosyne • Helen vs. Penelope
• Why are gender relations a problem? – Eros = potential chaos – Gender roles need to be clear and understood • Prohibitions against homosexuality • Female “circumcision” (FGM) • Eros biologically determined. • Gender socially determined.
“Genderbread Man”
“Genderbread Man” Socially Determined Biologically Determined
Ancient Greece and the Modern GLBT Movement • Sappho of Lesbos Lacedaemon
Kore Kouros
Aphrodite of Cnidus by Praxiteles 400 - 323 BCE
What was the real nature of male friendship in Ancient Greece? • Homosocial environments • No reference to male-male sex in the Iliad or Odsessy • But. . . What was the nature of the friendship between Achilles and Patroclus?
By c. 500 BCE • The “lover” and “beloved” relationship
Harmodius and Aristogeiton assassinated Hipparchus in 514 BCE Harmodius Aristogeiton
Alcibiades (450– 404 BC): “In his adolescence he drew away the husbands from their wives, and as a young man the wives from their husbands. ” Diogenes Laeurtius
“The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail. ” Plutarch (46 – 120 CE) Erotikos (Dialogue on Love)
Sex was less the problem than what a specific sex act says about gender.
Moderation • Hesiod – “Observe due measure, moderation is best in all things. ' • Euripides – “Moderation, the noblest gift of heaven” • Plato – “We should pursue and practice moderation. ”
Ancient China
• How is development in ancient China the same as that in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India? • How is it different? • Geography? • Political and social organization? • Religion?
Chinese Dynasties • “Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors” (“Culture Heroes and Sage Kings”) 2852 – 2205 BCE • Xia 2070– 1766 BCE • Shang 1766 – 1122 BCE • Zhou 1122 – 481 BCE “Mandate of Heaven”
