1 min readApr 8, 2019
I do agree with your assessment, but I would add that relationships between men in Archaic and Classical Greece, as well as in Edo Period Japan, were not viewed as primarily sexual, but as intrinsically valuable for many reasons other than for sex.
In fact, a Athenian of a certain era might have told you that women were for sex and men were for love. The relationships were that idealized.