Uranian (from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

) is a historical term for homosexual men. The word was also used as an adjective in association with male homosexuality or inter-male attraction regardless of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. An early use of the term appears in Friedrich Schiller's 'Sixth Letter' in the '' Aesthetic Education of Man'' (1795–96). Schiller claims that state institutions are so jealous they would rather share their servants with a

Cytherean Cytherean is an adjective literally meaning ''of Cythera'' (Latin ''Cytherēa'', from the Greek adjective Κυθέρεια ''Kythereia'', from Κύθηρα ''Kythēra'' 'Cythera'). Cythera is a small Greek island, southeast of the Peloponnesu ...

Venus than a Uranian Venus.Friedrich Schiller. 'Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man.' In Harrison, Wood and Gaiger eds. ''Art in Theory 1648-1815: An Anthology of Changing Ideas''. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2000. p. 800. The term was used by activist

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 – 14 July 1895) was a German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer who is regarded today as a pioneer of sexology and the modern gay rights movement. Ulrichs has been described as the "first gay man in ...

in a series of five booklets from 1864 to 1865 collected under the title (''The Riddle of Man–Manly Love''). The term ''uranian'' was adopted by English-language advocates of homosexual emancipation in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, such as

Edward Carpenter Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rightsWarren Allen Smith: ''Who's Who in Hell, A Handbook and International Directory for Human ...

and John Addington Symonds, who used it to describe a comradely love that would bring about true democracy. Oscar Wilde once wrote to his lover Robert Ross in an undated letter, "To have altered my life would have been to have admitted that uranian love is ignoble. I hold it to be noble—more noble than other forms." The term Uranians also designates a group of writers who studied classics and wrote

pederastic Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...

poetry from roughly the 1870s to the 1930s. The writings of this group came to be known by the phrase Uranian poetry. The art of

Henry Scott Tuke Henry Scott Tuke (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), was an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and you ...

and Wilhelm von Gloeden is also sometimes referred to as Uranian.

Etymology

Ulrichs derived ''uranian'' ( in German) from a dialogue on ''

eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...

'', in particular male love, metaphorized by the birth of Greek goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

from

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's work '' Symposium''. In this dialogue,

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

distinguishes between two types of love, symbolized by two different accounts of the birth of

, the goddess of love. was derived from

Aphrodite Urania Aphrodite Urania ( grc, Ἀφροδίτη Οὐρανία, Aphrodítē Ouranía) was an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, signifying "heavenly" or "spiritual", to distinguish her from her more earthly aspect of Aphrodite Pandemos, "Aphrod ...

, who was created out of the god Uranus' semen, a birth in which "female has no part", therefore representing love between men. Its counterpart, ''dionian'' ( in German), was derived from

Aphrodite Dionea Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

, the daughter of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and Dione, associated with a common love which "is apt to be of women as well as of youths, and is of the body rather than of the soul," representing for Ulrichs men's love for women. Diverging from Plato's account of masculine love, Ulrichs understood male to be essentially feminine and male to be masculine in nature. Ulrichs developed his terminology before the first public use of the term ''

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

''. John Addington Symonds was one of the first to take up the term ''uranian'' in the English language and is also responsible for its connection with Ulrichs' .

References

External links

* {{LGBT, history=expanded 1860s neologisms 19th century in LGBT history Gay men Homosexuality LGBT terminology Male homosexuality Sexual orientation de:Karl Heinrich Ulrichs#Urninge und Dioninge

Etymology

See also

References

External links