Homosexuality has been a feature of social life throughout human history, albeit one that, at least in the West these days, is often ignored or even swept under the duvet of history. In ancient Greece, homosexuality existed alongside nuclear, heterosexual families, and was part of a vibrant, world-changing culture that spanned the Mediterranean Ocean and beyond.
Ancient Greece is highly regarded for its advances in politics, art, science and warfare. Homosexuality played a part in all of these cultural highlights. The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite fighting force comprised entirely of matched pederastic couples, the elders in which would be otherwise family-oriented, heterosexual citizens, citizens who had taken younger male lovers. The Sacred Band was formed on the premise that men fighting next to the men they loved romantically would never flee the field of battle, a premise that was proved repeatedly as the Sacred Band carved great, bloody swaths through their opponents before returning home to Thebes to love their wives, raise their children, and to participate as free citizens in the body politic.
The greatest of Western philosophers, Plato, is rumored to have had an ongoing homosexual relationship, first with his mentor, Socrates, and then later with his pupil, Aristotle. The relationships between these men in no way diminished their civic standing, and it is only today that the picture of these men as lovers is kept from the casual regard of their lives.