Man with ephebe
Man with ephebe is an example of Greek art dating from the 6th century BC.[1] This ceramic cup by an unknown artist is housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston[2] - from the collection of E.P. Warren. Ephebe from the Greek ephebos (ἔφηβος) is the term for an adolescent male.
The images of both sides of the cup (shown below) are interpreted as: A bearded man fondles a boy's genitals and holds the back of his head with the other hand. The boy reciprocates his interest by gazing up into the mans face and stroking his beard with his hand, equivalent to the chin-touching gesture one usually sees in active partners. (Image A) [3] The man stimulates the boy's penis more aggressively by holding it between his thumb and index finger, while the boy embraces the man around the neck and jumps off the ground in excitement.(Image B) [4]
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- Note: the images shown above have been retouched to edit out some of the damage (See references [3] and [4] ).
