of the practice, which in time took on the aspect of a social institution, fostered and approved by the state.
In Sparta the lovers were held to a strict accounting for their "companions" who became attached to them from their twelfth year; so that they, and not their young companions, were punished for any shameful act on the part of the latter.
The choice of boy-lovers in Crete took the form of bridal theft. The lover advised the boy's family of his intention of stealing the boy. If the family did not like the "match," it tried to avoid the capture of the youth; but on the other hand if the alliance was considered a desirable one, the "romance" was encouraged. The higher the lover's social position the greater was the honor felt by the boy and the family. Afterwards, the chosen one was sent home bearing gifts.
So established was the practice upon the rock of social convention that it was considered a shame for a boy to possess no knightly lover. It was a great honor, on the other hand, for a youth to be coveted by numerous lovers. Repelling a wooing knight was considered ignominious—a blot on one's honor.
In Crete, Thebes and Thera, these unions enjoyed religious sanction. The engagement of the lovers, or at least their physical attachment, was accorded the protection of some god or hero. In Thebes, upon the holy promontory near the City, some 50 to 70 meters from the temple of Apollo Karneies and on the sacred site dedicated to Zeus, there is a chiselled inscription, which bears these words: "On this
