In ancient Greece, gods and mortals alike were known for sexual fluidity, and queerness is running rampant throughout Greek myth. But the gayest Greek god of all may come as a shock, given his uber-hetero reputation in pop culture.
In a recent viral TikTok, artist and ancient Greece enthusiast Lucky Boy (@luckyboy.draws) broke down which Greek god had the most gay lovers across mythology, complete with adorable illustrations. Based on their research, Lucky Boy presented the top three.
“Hermes barely makes it to number three,” Lucky Boy explained. “The god of travelers had four male lovers, including Perseus, the Greek hero that slayed Medusa. That’s how he received the magical items to help him on his quest.” Hermes’ other gay lovers, Lucky Boy added, include Amphion, Crocus, and Pollux.
The next god on the list is Apollo, the patron of music, poetry, the sun, and more. “This cutie-pie had a total of six male lovers,” Lucky Boy said, citing Adonis, Branchus, Cyparissus, Hyacinthus, and Hymenaeus as five of Apollo’s paramours.
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“One of them had a particularly awesome story,” they added. “During a trial by other gods, Apollo got sentenced to serve a mortal for one year. His name was Admetus. So yeah, gods fall in love with their bosses at work, just like we do.”
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Finally, Lucky Boy arrived at number one, who they said “is on a whole other level.”
“It’s both a hero and a god: Heracles,” they continued. (He’s also known as Hercules, for anyone more familiar with the Roman spelling, as popularized by Disney.) “Greek historian Plutarch said Heracles’ male lovers were beyond counting — but we’ll be counting, don’t you worry.”
Lucky Boy listed a total of 11 male lovers for Heracles, their “favorite by far” being Iolaus.
“Plutarch reports that male couples would go to Iolaus’ tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other,” they explained, “and that’s really cute.”
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