Development of Friendship Between Men Throughout History

The History and Nature of Man Friendship. http://artofmanliness.com/2008/08/24/the-history-and-nature-of-man-friendships/

This is just a little fun article on the history of man friendship I came across when browsing the web.  It describes the development of the principles of friendship between guys throughout different historical periods, from the ancient times till nowadays. Why did male friendship use to be seen more noble than marital love?  When did man friendship reach the peak of sentimentality? When did man hug appear? The answers to these and other questions you'll find in this article. You will also see some good pictures from the past which give a better understanding of what friendship was like back then.

 Ancient Times

During this period of time, male friendship was seen as the most fulfilling relationship a man could ever have. It was more noble than marital love because women were viewed as inferior. Platonic relationships characterized by emotional connection without sexual intimacy were considered ideal and were greatly extolled by philosophers.  At this time, the idea of heroic friendship based on emotional and intellectual maturity developed.  Historic examples:  Achilles and Patroclus,  

19th Century America

Male relationships at this period of time with filled with deeply held feeling and sentimentality, and endearing language in daily interaction was often part of them. In addition to that, men were not afraid to be physically affectionate, i.e. to hold hands. At times, they even shared the same bed - in order to save money. There was no concept of homosexuality back then as we know it now. One of the reasons for such level of intimacy in male relationships was lack of interaction between sexes prior to marriage. Due to all these, male friendships were very similar to romantic relationships between men and women. 

20th Century America

Man friendship underwent a big transformation from being intimate and sensual to being almost free of emotional bonding and physical affection of any sort. Such transformation was driven by the fear of being called 'gay'. Later on, man friendship experienced a great influence from market economics, when men started seeing each other as competitors. With increased mobility, it became harder to make true friends. And with the development of leisure and sports infrastructures, men started building their friendships around shared activities rather than basing them on an emotional bond.