ABSTRACT
Ganymede, the beautiful boy whom Jupiter took by force from Mount Ida to serve as cupbearer for the gods on Mount Olympus, has been a homosexual icon for thousands of years. According to the ancients, Jupiter accomplished the kidnapping disguised as an eagle, and during the Renaissance, Michelango captured this scene dramatically in a drawing. Much banter about Ganymede also occurs in Renaissance literature, particularly in English drama and poetry where the term "Ganymede" becomes a synonym for a boy love-object.
