Site Map 
The Great Gay Love Tales, Finally Uncensored


LOVERS' LEGENDS: The Gay Greek Myths by Andrew Calimach, 192 pages, 6x9, 25.00 cloth A collection of meticulously restored and retold myths, profusely illustrated with ancient art. Includes a map, notes, bibliography, index and glossary.

Fed up with literary and artistic allusions to gay love stories not found in print, Andrew Calimach sought out primary sources and compiled the long-suppressed myths. The tales, rendered in elegant and vigorous prose, unveil for the first time since the fall of the Roman empire the full dimensions of Western ancestral lore. They reflect a surprising diversity of male love, along with a nuanced morality that integrates same-sex love with the Greek spiritual teachings. Appealing to all lovers of myth, as well as classicists and historians, they are suitable for use in gender studies, literature and history classes.

Nine tales, crown jewels of Greek mythology, are framed by pseudo-Lucian's Different Loves, an early dialogue on gay and straight love illustrating the roots of this ongoing debate. The stories vary — by turn heroic, cautionary, or shamanic — but always maintain the dignified cadence of ancient epic. Here are Hercules with Hylas, Orpheus with the Thracians, and Zeus with Ganymede, along with other paragons of manhood who loved those of their own sex. The numerous photos of classic art reveal the complex world of the ancients through their own eyes, while their myths proclaim that self-indulgence, betrayal and violence are to be despised, and that love is the highest good.

Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths has received awards and recognition in three 2003 award contests:

ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year, Silver, Gay and Lesbian Nonfiction

The Benjamin Franklin Book Award, Finalist: Gay & Lesbian category

The Lambda Book Awards, Finalist: Spirituality, and Children / Young Adults categories

ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year, Finalist: Education


A study guide for use by High School and College instructors is forthcoming.

ISBN Hardbound: 0-9714686-0-5
Distributed to the trade by Biblio Distribution — a division of NBN
(800) 462-6420