In the story of the epic rivalry between the gods Horus and Seth, there is one rather risqué chapter that may have a lot to say about what the ancient Egyptians thought of same-sex love. Sources: "The Contendings of Horus and Seth" from The Chester Beatty Papyrus 1, translator unknown. https://courses.missouristate.edu/ECarawan/HorusSeth.htm#:~:text=Seth%20returned%20according%20to%20his,I'll%20do%20so.%22 Jerkins, Morgan. "Lettuce and Kings: The Power Struggle Between Horus and Seth." MQR. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2015/05/lettuce-and-kings-the-power-struggle-between-horus-and-set-2/﻿ Manniche, Lisa. Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt (London: Kegan Paul, 2002). Smith, K. Annabelle. "When Lettuce Was a Sacred Sex Symbol." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-lettuce-was-a-sacred-sex-symbol-12271795/?no-ist Watterson, Barbara. Gods of Ancient Egypt (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998). The episode of History of Egypt podcast mentioned in the episode: https://www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com/192-the-trouble-with-seth/

Seth Versus Horus

PS: Pre-Stonewall returns with the story of Gladys Bentley. She was an irreverent icon of the Harlem Renaissance, who performed her act and went around in public dressed in men's clothing and even claimed to have married a woman. Later in the more puritanical atmosphere of the United States in the 1950s, though, she published an article claiming her homosexuality had been cured. But how sincere was she? Sources: Bentley, Gladys. "I am a Woman Again."&nbsp;Ebony Magazine&nbsp;2.10 (1952): 92-95. Jones, Regina V. "How Does A Bulldagger Get Out of the Footnote? Or Gladys Bentley's Blues."&nbsp;Ninepatch: A Creative Journal for Women and Gender Studies&nbsp;1, no. 1 (2012): 31-48. Turner, Joyce Moore and Turner, W. Burghardt. Caribbean Crusaders and the Harlem Renaissance (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2005).

Gladys Bentley

In the French city of Poitiers during the sixth century, two nuns led a violent revolt against their own abbess. Brought to trial, there is one particular star witness who is mentioned almost incidentally: a man who dresses like a nun. Sources: Gregory of Tours. History of the Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe (New York: Penguin Books, 1976). Guy Halsall, "Material Culture, Sex, Gender, Sexuality And Transgression In Sixth-Century Gaul" in Halsall, Cemeteries and Society in Merovingian Gaul (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 323-355.

The Male Nun of Dark Ages Gaul

The First Bear to be Emperor of Rome

The sixth emperor to rule Rome, Galba was the first emperor of Rome not to be related to Julius Caesar or the Claudian clan to reign. A good, old-fashioned Roman, according to the Roman historians Galba nonetheless flaunted Roman sensibilitites by allegedly preferring manly men. Tip jar: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=CGT7WU5C2BG9J&amp;no_recurring=0&amp;currency_code=USD Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chadsdenton Sources:Suetonius, "Galba" and "Otho" from Twelve CaesarsPlutarch, "Life of Galba" from Parallel LivesGwyn Morgan, 69 A.D.: The Year of Four Emperors

Galba

"Pre-Stonewall" is a history podcast written and presented by historian Chad S. Denton. Each episode highlights a different LGBT figure who lived and died before the Stonewall Riots and the rise of the gay and trans rights movements. The theme song is "At The Mermaids' Fancy Ball" by Billy Murray.

Pre-Stonewall

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