ABSTRACT
Timarchos’ father left him a fortune, so he should have been well off. Yet he had
such a good time drinking wine, gambling, hiring flute girls, and having sex with
prostitutes that his fortune evaporated. To earn the money to keep up this extrava-
gant lifestyle, he became the lover of several wealthy men. This shocked his fellow
Athenians, who put him on trial for disgracing his status as a citizen. What may
seem surprising to us is that his accuser, Aeschines, wrote poetry to beautiful male
youths, and fought in the streets for their favors. The city even profited from the
taxes paid by male prostitutes. Why was it acceptable for an adult man to love a
male youth, but disgraceful for him to become another man’s lover?
