A Costly Joke
The ancient Greeks and Romans accepted, or at least tolerated, some homosexual relationships between men. However, their tolerance was within limits. Intercourse between men did not carry much of a stigma in of itself – at least not for the top, or the guy who did the penetration. Exclusive bottoms – the ones penetrated – were often reviled, though. Effeminate behavior on the part of men jeopardized their social status. Tough and manly gay warriors were respected. Those perceived as girlie were not.
Many rulers engaged in homosexual relations with other men, without loss of prestige. Take Emperor Hadrian. He was so passionate about his young lover Antinous, that he made him a god after his accidental death. However, emperors like Hadrian were tops, and avoided effeminate behavior. Emperors who broke that taboo, such as the flamboyantly effeminate Heliogabalus, ended badly. So huge was the taboo against effeminacy that to even joke about it could get one killed. One jerk who found that out the hard way was Periander, a seventh century BC Greek tyrant of Ambracia. As seen below, he paid dearly for a gay joke that he cracked at the expense of his lover.