LGBT thems in mythology

Religious narrative has included stories interpreted by many as accounts of same-sex love and sexuality. Other myths contain LGBT references. Among surviving examples are:

List of myths associated with same-sex love

Arranged by continent of origin of the religion. Entries of names specific partners are alphabetical.

Africa

Egypt

• Ash and Set
• Horus and Set

Asia and the Middle East

Babylonia

• Enkidu and Gilgamesh

Biblical

• David and Jonathan

Japan

• Ōkuninushi (大国主) and Sukunabikona or Sukunahikona (少名毘古那神 or 少彦名神)
• Takemikazuchi ( タケミカヅチ; 建御雷之男神 建御雷神 ) and Takeminakata ( タケミナカタ, 建御名方神 たけみなかたのかみ）
• Monju, Monju Bosatsu; Manjusri (Monju 文殊 or Monju-shiri 文殊師利菩薩)
• Jizō, Jizō Bosatsu; Ksitigarbha (Jizō 地蔵, Jizo-o Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩)
• Kannon, Syō Kannon Bosatsu (聖観音菩薩); Avalokiteśvara　
• Aizen Myō-ō (愛染明王 or 愛染妙王)
• Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王); Acala　　　　
• Shudō Daimyōjin (衆道大明神); Patron God of shudo (衆道)]]

Greece

• Abderus and Heracles
• Achilles and Patroclus
• Achilles and Troilus
• Ameinias and Narcissus
• Apollo and Hyacinth
• Apollo and Hymenaios
• Artemis (Zeus in the form of Artemis) and Callisto
• Chrysippus and Laius
• Daphnis and Pan
• Euryalus and Nisus
• Zeus and Ganymede
• Heracles and Hylas
• Heracles and Iolaus
• Ianthe and Iphis
• Poseidon and Pelops
• Orpheus and the Thracians
  • Orpheus and Calais ( one of Boreads )

List of LGBT related deities and myths

Listed in alphabetical order, with culture of origin noted and statement of how it relates to LGBT.

• Ahsonnutli, in Navaho tradition, a bisexual creator god
• Anteros, Greek god of unrequited love, was also a term used for the love which arises in the beloved boy in a pederastic relationship.
• Amazons, in Greek mythology, a nation of warrior women
• Asiaq, in Inuit mythology, the deity of storms, generally portrayed as female, but sometimes as male
• Atea and Fakahotu a Polynesian god and goddess who change sexes when their son dies of hunger
• Chin (Mayan god), Mayan god of homosexuality
• Eros, Greek god of sexual love of all types
• Freyr, a Norse god of fertility, may have been worshipped by a group of homosexual or effeminate priests, as suggested by Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum and later by Dumézil
• Grettir, an Icelandic hero, had a voracious sexual appetite and was said to have slept with men, women and animals alike.
• Hu Tianbao, Chinese god of homosexuality
• Loki, a Norse trickster god, who frequently disguises himself as a woman and has given birth, (whilst in the form of a white mare, he took a 'passive' role in a homosexual/bestial encounter with the stallion) Svadilfari, resulting in his giving birth to the foal Sleipnir.
• Mandulis, a Nubian sky deity, pictured as male, with pendulous breasts
• Mawu-Lisa, a depiction of the creator deity in Dahomey tradition presented as both male and female
• Nana Buluku the androgynous supreme deity of the Dahomey
• Odin is mentioned as a practitioner of seiðr, a form of magic considered shameful for men to perform, so was reserved for women. It is possible that the practice of seiðr involved passive sexual rites .
• Ometeotl, the Aztec master of duality, considered both male and female
• Tiresias, a male Greek prophet who was turned into a woman for 7 years

Spoken-word versions - audio files

• Achilles and Patroclus
• Apollo and Hyacinth
• Chrysippus and Laius
• Ganymede and Zeus
• Heracles and Hylas
• Narcissus
• Orpheus
• Pelops and Poseidon

Bibliography

Bernard Sergent

• Homosexuality in Greek Myth
• L'homosexualité initiatique dans l'Europe ancienne

Andrew Calimach

• Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths
• Lovers' Legends Unbound

Conner, Sparks & Sparks

• Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit

See also

• Religion and homosexuality
• Native American Two-spirit traditions

External links

• GLBT mythology, links and references
• Greek Mythology The secret Greek myths of male love, ancient coming-of-age rituals, uncensored and developed.
• The Two-Spirit Tradition essay on male love and same-sex marriage in Native American shamanic religion.
• Homosexuality and the Ancient Greeks