Repost from /r/hellenism*, guess this kind of topic isn't allowed or something, not entirely sure.*
Hi all, I'm a little new to Hellenismos, and I had a question that has been hard to find an answer for, pun intended. Ahaha, sorry, couldn't resist.
My question is... how is masturbation viewed in Hellenism? I've read many different theories. For example, I read here that it's okay, according to one redditor, because sexuality is a gift from Aphrodite:
"Natural human activities such as sex and so on, are not sins, quite the contrary. Sexuality in humans and other life forms is a gift of Aphrodite. Her power is inescapable and it would be unnatural to fight it."
But here, I read this:
"Thus retreat from the world was recommended by philosophers such as Plato, and many wise men, like Apollonius of Tyana in the first century c.e., took vows of chastity. Related is the philosophical ideal of imperviousness to all earthly circumstances (apathy, ataraxy). Within Orphicism, Pythagoreanism, Stoicism, and Cynicism there were strains that viewed the physical as far inferior to the spiritual. The essential ancient conception (the soma sema doctrine, for example, in Plato's Gorgias ) was that the soul, caught in the "grave" of the body, should be liberated through a weakening of precisely this body. Examples of this idea occurred in the Eleusian fasts, in Neoplatonism, and—most clearly delineated—in Manichaeism. Passive asceticism was considered the best means to attain this liberation. Ascetic tendencies supported, furthermore, a strand of ancient medicine that energetically recommended abstinence from sexuality, as the discharge of semen was thought to weaken the body and soul of both men and women."
I've read everything from it being completely okay, to things like it not being okay, to having a balance, I've read that ancient Greeks would sometimes "devote an act" of sex or masturbation to Aphrodite... I've even read online that you can offer "special offerings" to the Gods, by offering them semen or sexual discharge, because it has a lot of energy, right behind blood.
It's very confusing as a new Hellenist. I do not want to offend any of the Theoi, for sure, but... what the heck do I do with my body when it comes to masturbation, porn, "special offerings," etc.?
Thanks for any help!
In Ancient Greece people also believed that women were just deformed versions of men and therefore inferior to them. Just because something stood for right in the old times, doesn't mean it applies to the new times. The Greek gods and goddesses, and the mythology surrounding them and the Greek heroes, portraits them as highly sexual beings, so I think it comes down to you because - after all - that's what Paganism is all about! You make your own set of beliefs and morals and values and you stick to them - and you hold yourself and only yourself responsible for your beliefs, morals and choices. So if you want to touch yourself - and it feels right - by all means do it.