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''Malakia'' (, "softness", "weakliness") is an
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
word that, in relation to men, has sometimes been translated as "
effeminacy Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rathe ...
". The contrary characteristic in men was ''karteria'' (, "patient endurance", "perseverance").


Lexicon entries

The standard Greek-English Lexicon of
Liddell and Scott Liddell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse" * Allan Liddell (1908–1970) * Alvar Lidell (1908–1981), BBC radio announcer and newsreader * Andreas Lidel (1740s–1780s), co ...
gives as English equivalents of the Greek word μαλακία: :I. 1. ''softness''; hence, of persons, ''moral weakness''; ::2. = κιναιδεία (unnatural lust) ::3. ''weakliness, sickness'' :II. ''calmness of the sea''


Examples of use of the adjectival form μαλακός

The following are citations of the use by Greek writers of the adjective μαλακός ("soft").


Of things, whether subject or not subject to touch

* "Lay thee down on a ''soft'' couch". * "Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in ''soft'' raiment? Behold those who wear ''soft'' raiment are in kings' houses." (Matthew 11:8; similar passage at Luke 7:25.) * "Nay, bespeak thou him with ''gentle'' words; so shall the Olympian forthwith be gracious unto us."''The Iliad'', Homer, Loeb, Bk I, 580–585; pp. 46–7. * "Ah, in my utter wretchedness ''soft'' slumber enfolded me. Would that pure Artemis would even now give so ''soft'' a death." * "And then he swore my glance was ''soft'' and sweet."


Of persons

* "''Softer'' for the handling now than when he burned the ships with blazing fire." * "''Delicate'' men spring from ''delicate'' countries." * "The disposition of the female is ''softer'', and more tameable and submissive". * "Even during the levying of the war he had gained credit for ''weakness''". * "He ''made little difficulty'' about the pay". * "Not to let himself be shamed down, for fear of being thought ''a coward'' if he do not vote for war". * "Self-restraint is the opposite of Unrestraint, Endurance of ''Softness''. * "Too ''soft'' to stand up against pleasure and pain". * "Periander, reflecting on this, and resolving not to show any ''indulgence'' ..." * "The words of the cunning knaves are ''soft''." Septuagint, Prov. 26.22. * " Kings were no longer chosen from the house of Codrus, because they were thought to be luxurious and to have become ''soft''." From the Athenian Constitution.''The Athenian Constitution'', Aristotle, Loeb Classical Library vol 285, Fr 7; p. 13. * "Some of the kings proved ''cowardly'' in warfare".''The Athenian Constitution'', Aristotle, Loeb vol 285, III 2; p. 15.


Use by philosophers

The
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
character in
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ''Republic'' observed that "exclusive devotion to gymnastic" produces "a temper of hardness and ferocity" and that "exclusive devotion to music" produces a temper "of softness and effeminacy" The word that Jowett here translates as "effeminacy" is not μαλακία (''malakia''), which he renders as "softness", but ἡμερότης (''hemerotes''). Paul Shorey's translation of the latter word in the Loeb Classical Library is "gentleness". Some contributors to blogs and Internet forums paraphrase this passage as "too much music effeminizes the man" and present it as if the word ''malakia'' were used in the original text. In other passages in Plato's ''Republic'' too, the words ''malakia'' or ''malakos'' are not translated as "effeminacy" or ''effeminate''. Thus the reason given for not familiarizing the guardians with poetry that pictured an afterlife of terrors was "lest the habit for such thrills make them more sensitive and ''soft'' than we would have them."''Republic'', Plato, Loeb vol 237, Bk III ii; 387 c; p. 207. The word translated as "soft" is ''malakoteroi'', an image of softened metal that Plato used also of the effect of certain kinds of music: "when a man abandons himself to music to play upon him and pour into his soul as it were through the funnel of his ears those sweet, ''soft'', and dirge-like airs of which we were just now speaking ... the first result is that the principle of high spirit, if he had it, is softened like iron and is made useful instead of useless and brittle. But when he continues the practice without remission and is spellbound, the effect begins to be that he melts and liquefies till he completely dissolves away his spirit, cuts out as it were the very sinews of his soul and makes of himself a 'feeble warrior'."''Republic'', Plato, Loeb vol 237, Bk III xviii; 411a; p. 291.
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
writes that, "of the dispositions described above, the deliberate avoidance of pain is rather a kind of softness (''malakia''); the deliberate pursuit of pleasure is profligacy in the strict sense.";''Nicomachean Ethics'', Aristotle, Loeb vol 73, VII vii 3; pg 415. "One who is deficient in resistance to pains that most men withstand with success, is soft (''malakos'') or luxurious, for luxury is a kind of softness (''malakia''); such a man lets his cloak trail on the ground to escape the fatigue and trouble of lifting it, or feigns sickness, not seeing that to counterfeit misery is to be miserable." and "People too fond of amusement are thought to be profligate, but really they are soft (''malakos''); for amusement is rest, and therefore a slackening of effort, and addiction to amusement is a form of excessive slackness."''Nicomachean Ethics'', Aristotle, Loeb vol 73, VII vii 7; pg 417. A writer of the Peripatetic school (c. 1st century BC or AD) elaborated a little more on Aristotle by labeling softness as a
vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
. He writes that "
Cowardice Cowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowa ...
is accompanied by softness (''malakia''), unmanliness, faint-heartedness."On Virtues and Vices, Loeb vol 285, p. 497. It was also a concomitant of uncontrol: "The concomitants of uncontrol are softness (''malakia'') and negligence."On Virtues and Vices, Loeb vol 285, p. 499


Translations of μαλακία as "effeminacy"

Early editions of the Liddell and Scott ''
A Greek-English Lexicon A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' gave "delicacy, effeminacy" as a translation of μαλακία in passages such as Herodotus 6,11 and Thucydides 1,122. Since the 20th-century revision by Jones, the same work now gives "moral weakness" as the meaning of the word in the same passages. In a passage of the famous Funeral Oration that
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
placed in his mouth,
Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
is translated by Crawley as saying that the Athenians "cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy (''malakia'')".''The Peloponnesian War'', Thucydides, trans. Crawley, The Modern Library, NY, 1951. Book II, 40; p. 105. Older Bible translations used "effeminate" to translate ''malakoi'' in
I Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...
.


Bible translations

In the gospels, the only instance of the word (in the adjectival form) is in Matthew and Luke, who use ''malakos'' to refer to luxurious clothing, in contrast to the attire of
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
: "What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft (''malakos'') clothing?" In this context, the word is translated as "soft", "fine", "delicate", "expensive", "fancy". Paul's
First Letter to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...
uses ''malakos'' in the plural to refer to persons. This is commonly translated as "effeminate", as in the King James Version, which has: "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor ''effeminate'', nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Another common translation is "male prostitutes". Other versions have: "passive homosexual partners", "men who are prostitutes", "effeminate call boys", "men who let other men use them for sex", "those who make women of themselves".


St Thomas Aquinas in translation

In Question 138 of the Second Part of the Second Part of his
Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholasticism, scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all ...
,
St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...
delves more deeply into the connotations of the Latin word ''mollities'', used to translate the word ''malakia'' used by Aristotle (whom Aquinas calls "the Philosopher") in his ''
Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...
'' (Book VII, 7), and which is this English translation is rendered by "effeminacy". Whether effeminacy 'mollities'', literally "softness"is opposed to perseverance? ''Objection 1.'' It seems that effeminacy is not opposed to perseverance. For a gloss on 1 Cor. 6:9,10, "Nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind," expounds the text thus: "Effeminate—i.e. obscene, given to unnatural vice." But this is opposed to chastity. Therefore, effeminacy is not a vice opposed to perseverance. ''Objection 2.'' Further, the Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 7) that "delicacy is a kind of effeminacy." But to be delicate seems akin to intemperance. Therefore, effeminacy is not opposed to perseverance but to temperance. ''Objection 3.'' Further, the Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 7) that "the man who is fond of amusement is effeminate." Now immoderate fondness of amusement is opposed to eutrapelia, which is the virtue about pleasures of play, as stated in Ethic. iv, 8. Therefore, effeminacy is not opposed to perseverance. ''On the contrary,'' The Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 7) that "the persevering man is opposed to the effeminate." ''I answer that,'' As stated above (137, 1 and 2), perseverance is deserving of praise because thereby a man does not forsake a good on account of long endurance of difficulties and toils: and it is directly opposed to this, seemingly, for a man to be ready to forsake a good on account of difficulties which he cannot endure. This is what we understand by effeminacy, because a thing is said to be "soft" if it readily yields to the touch. Now a thing is not declared to be soft through yielding to a heavy blow, for walls yield to the battering-ram. Wherefore a man is not said to be effeminate if he yields to heavy blows. Hence the Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 7) that "it is no wonder, if a person is overcome by strong and overwhelming pleasures or sorrows; but he is to be pardoned if he struggles against them." Now it is evident that fear of danger is more impelling than the desire of pleasure: wherefore Tully says (De Offic. i) under the heading "True
magnanimity Magnanimity (from Latin '' magnanimitās'', from '' magna'' "big" + '' animus'' "soul, spirit") is the virtue of being great of mind and heart. It encompasses, usually, a refusal to be petty, a willingness to face danger, and actions for noble ...
consists of two things: It is inconsistent for one who is not cast down by fear, to be defeated by lust, or who has proved himself unbeaten by toil, to yield to pleasure." Moreover, pleasure itself is a stronger motive of attraction than sorrow, for the lack of pleasure is a motive of withdrawal, since lack of pleasure is a pure privation. Wherefore, according to the Philosopher (Ethic. vii, 7), properly speaking an effeminate man is one who withdraws from good on account of sorrow caused by lack of pleasure, yielding as it were to a weak motion. ''Reply to Objection 1.'' This effeminacy is caused in two ways. On one way, by custom: for where a man is accustomed to enjoy pleasures, it is more difficult for him to endure the lack of them. On another way, by natural disposition, because, to wit, his mind is less persevering through the frailty of his temperament. This is how women are compared to men, as the Philosopher says (Ethic. vii, 7): wherefore those who are passively sodomitical are said to be effeminate, being womanish themselves, as it were. ''Reply to Objection 2.'' Toil is opposed to bodily pleasure: wherefore it is only toilsome things that are a hindrance to pleasures. Now the delicate are those who cannot endure toils, nor anything that diminishes pleasure. Hence it is written (Dt. 28:56): "The tender and delicate woman, that could not go upon the ground, nor set down her foot for… softness ouay: 'niceness'" Thus delicacy is a kind of effeminacy. But properly speaking effeminacy regards lack of pleasures, while delicacy regards the cause that hinders pleasure, for instance toil or the like. ''Reply to Objection 3.'' In play two things may be considered. On the first place there is the pleasure, and thus inordinate fondness of play is opposed to eutrapelia. Secondly, we may consider the relaxation or rest which is opposed to toil. Accordingly, just as it belongs to effeminacy to be unable to endure toilsome things, so too it belongs thereto to desire play or any other relaxation inordinately.


''Malacia'' in Latin writers

Latin writers adopted the Greek word, Latinized as ''malacia'', to mean, literally or figuratively, "a calm at sea", "dead calm", or to mean "a total want of appetite", "nausea".


"Malacia" in English

In English, the word " malacia" is used in medicine to mean an abnormal craving for certain kinds of food, and in pathology to mean an abnormal softening of organs or tissues of the human body.


''Malakia'' and ''malakas'' in modern Greek

In modern Greek, the word μαλακία – ''malakia'' has come to mean "
masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
", and its derivative μαλάκας – ''malakas'' means "one who masturbates". Depending on the tone of voice, this term can be used colloquially as a friendly greeting or in a derogatory sense when angry. This word is very common in modern Greece.


Greek attitude toward effeminacy

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
recounted that, when the
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
king
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
asked
Croesus Croesus ( ; Lydian: ; Phrygian: ; grc, Κροισος, Kroisos; Latin: ; reigned: c. 585 – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. Croesus was ...
, a defeated king who was now his counsellor, what he should do in view of a revolt of the
Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
ns, Croesus advised him to punish the leader, "but let the Lydians be pardoned; and lay on them this command, that they may not revolt or be dangerous to you; then, I say, and forbid them to possess weapons of war, and command them to wear tunics under their cloaks and buskins on their feet, and to teach their sons lyre-playing and song and dance and huckstering. Then, O King, you will soon see them turned to women instead of men; and thus you need not fear lest they revolt."''The Histories'', Herodotus, trans. Robin Waterfield, Oxford University Press, NY, 1998. Book I, 155–157; pg 69. Note that the word ''malakia'' is not used in the Greek original of this text. The Greek idea that those engaged in mechanical trades incurred effeminacy was expressed by
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
(the word translated here as "effeminate" is unrelated to ''malakia''):
Men do indeed speak ill of those occupations which are called handicrafts, and they are rightly held of little repute in communities, because they weaken the bodies of those who make their living at them by compelling them to sit and pass their days indoors. Some indeed work all the time by a fire. But when the body becomes effeminate (''thelunomenos'') the mind too is debilitated. Besides, these mechanical occupations (''
banausos ''Banausos'' (Ancient Greek , plural , ''banausoi'') is a pejorative applied to the class of manual laborers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun – ''banausia'' is defined by Hesychius as "every craft () onductedby mea ...
'') leave a man no leisure to attend to his friends' interests, or the public interest. This class therefore cannot be of much use to his friends or defend his country. Indeed, some states, especially the most warlike, do not allow a citizen to engage in these handicraft occupations.


See also

*
Homosexuality in ancient Greece In classical antiquity, writers such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Athenaeus and many others explored aspects of homosexuality in Greek society. The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece amo ...
*
The Bible and homosexuality There are a number of passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that have been interpreted as involving same-sex sexual activity and relationships. The passages about homosexual individuals and sexual relations in the Hebrew Bible ar ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em Effeminacy Gender roles Pejorative terms for men Greek words and phrases