king Thespius. At the invitation of their father, he bedded them all in one night (except the youngest, who was too shy), and got them all with child, and all boys, of course. Of his many male beloveds,19 we are told he loved wise Nestor best, even more than handsome Hylas or war-like Iolaus.20 Many of the other heroes had minions as well,21 and, though most of those accounts have been lost, we can still wonder at the abundance of such tales a Greek youth might have heard as he lounged in the shade of an ancient oak in the palestra, and at the way those myths might have colored his feelings and his thoughts.
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