Homosexuality.

[devonin]

Basically, it was, "we know you guys are having sex, but we'll choose to ignore it, as long as you have a wife too."

The propensity for both bisexuality and pedarasty in ancient rome and greece stemmed more from an understanding of sex and sexuality that differed substantially from later christian/victorian views.

The idea that sex is only for heterosexual relationships designed solely for procreation inside a formal marriage arrangement has only been the widespread view for a comparatively short time (Call it about 1800, 1900 years) when stacked up against the good 17 or 18,000 years that humans have existed in generally their current form.

The simple way to understand the understanding of sex that existed at that time is within the confines of the appetites. Basically, there was a substantial and well-understood distinction between I guess what we'd call ****ing, having sex, and making love.

Functionally, being horny was viewed as no different than being hungry or being tired, and just as you can choose between a well-prepared gourmet meal or McDonalds when you want food, there was nothing considered especially wrong with satisfying your base urges wherever you felt like. There was just a substantial difference between "The boys wanted sex so we went to a whorehouse" and "Making love with my spouse to further the family line and express our feelings for one another" and the common view seperated these far enough apart that doing one basically didn't interfere with the other.

Also, I'd like to see some evidence to support "Most" cultures condemning homosexuals to death. I'm pretty hard-pressed to think of any that aren't connected to the judeo-christian tradition.