Gay activists are all worked up over in Greece.

Dozens of men and women gathered outside Parliament in Athens yesterday to protest conservative politico's push against gay marriage there. The brouhaha began last June when a lesbian couple used a legal loophole to secure their same-sex nuptials.

Right-wing leaders balked at the idea and the Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit to overturn the blessed union.

The Justice Ministry has filed a legal suit to overturn the union of one gay and one lesbian couple after they took advantage of a loophole in Greek civil law that fails to specify gender in matrimony.

"We are here because we want equality," said Christina Neofotistou, 28, a designer. "These marriages were the first step, but this government wants to cancel it: instead they should be doing something for us."

The marriages drew strong criticism from the powerful Orthodox Church, which officially represents more than 90 percent of the 11 million-strong population.

While many European countries have established legislation recognising gay marriage or same-sex partnerships, Greece's traditional society has preferred to turn a blind eye to homosexuality.

That's odd, especially considering men in ancient Greece were all about the cock. And, of course, the nation's European Union membership, which is meant to require uniform equality. Not that such things mean much…

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West Hollywood wasn't the only proud place this weekend. Gay pride fever swept across Europe, where countless queers came out to show their gay faces.

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» Judicial Bolt?

Tasos Aliferis, the mayor of tiny Greek island Tilos, may face jail time for allowing gay marriage on his island, a first for the nation. Though the Minister of Justice declared the weddings illegal, Aliferis is sticking to his guns: "I consulted the Greek civil code and the constitution and verified that there is no law against same-sex marriages. The laws on marriage simply do not specify any genders. To me, therefore, if something is not banned by law it is not illegal." [Telegraph]

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» They Did!

Greece saw its first gay marriage this weekend. As we reported last week, a couple gathered on the small island of Tilos to seal the deal. Of course, there was some official opposition as prosecutorial forces attempted to block the nups. The show, however, went on - and hopefully there will be many more! [BBC]

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Forget Lesbos! Tilos Island is totally the gay place to be in Greece. Well, for one couple, at least:

The mayor of a tiny Aegean Sea island says he is willing to carry out the first civil wedding ceremony for a gay couple in Greece.

Tilos Island Mayor Tassos Alfieris says he would carry out the ceremony for two gay men who took the first official step toward marriage by posting a wedding notice in a Greek newspaper.

In March a lesbian organization discovered a loophole in a 26-year-old law that does not specify gender in civil wedding. The two men on Tilos would be the first pair to test it.

Don't you just love envelope pushing homos?!

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Andrew Calimach's sexual awakening came at a queer time: while at amuseum with his parents.

The family had fled communist Romania and found themselves in Rome, where the 13-ish Calimach felt his first gay pang:

I remember standing in a museum in Rome, maybe the Villa Borghese, staring at this ancient bronze statue of a boy about my own age, naked, pulling a thorn from his foot. I remember my parents trying to drag me away, and me staring and staring, desiring that naked boy.

Hungry for more, the lustful Calimach soon heard murmurs of homo-flavored Greek myths, which only fueled his pubescent curiosity. But, alas, those myths were buried, censored or simply destroyed. It was around that time, Calimach tells our editor, that he decided to dig up the long-lost tales of love and spread the love. And, after about forty years and inmeasurable determination, Calimach published Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths.

More than just ancient masturbatory material, Calimach found romantic tutorials. The 55-year old historian tells our editor, "The more I study these myths, the more I see in them the Greek's loving guidance: how to love, how to be loved, how not to hurt your lover…" Calimach also gives us the scoop on communism's positive attributes, why he never came out to his parents and how pederasty still exists. After the jump, of course…

[Image: Lovers Zeus and Ganymede sleep while Prometheus, that bastard, steals the Gods' fire.]

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» Success!

After initially rejecting him - twice! - the Greek government has granted a 40-year old Iranian asylum. [Pink News]

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Those clever gay Greeks! Activist group OKLE discovered a loophole in the nation's laws that technically allow gay marriage - and now they're going to use it in their fight for equality:

The group, OLKE, said a 1982 law legalizing weddings in civil ceremonies refers only to participating "persons," without specifying gender. Therefore, OLKE said, it will sue municipalities that refuse to marry gay couples.

"If the (municipalities) don't give us the OK, the next step will be legal action," OLKE spokeswoman Evangelia Vlami told The Associated Press.

"There should be no impediment for us. The law refers to 'persons,' not a man and a woman. … So we will proceed as if there is no obstacle."

The revelation comes ahead of debates on introducing civil unions, which may now be a moot point.

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A gaggle of Greek actors recently stripped to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS. Our source only speaks Greek, so we don't know the specifics. We do know, however, that we like what we see.

Check out some more flesh, after the jump…

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Yehuda Levin takes this Hanukkah season to shed his rabbinical light on the "historical truth" of the Jewish festival of lights: it's a defeat of the Syrian-Greek's homosexual agenda.

Read the 20 Most Frightful Anti-Gay Activist honoree's ramblings, after the the jump…

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We certainly hope you haven't forgotten that October's gay history month. If you have, well, look alive because we've got another gay blast from the past. Hoorah!

Born in Alexandria, Egypt to Greek parents Constantine Cavafy used his poetry to explore issues of individual identity, nationality, and cultural progression, particularly with regard to homosexuality. While he spent much of his life in Arabic speaking lands, Cavafy turned away from his enviornmental influences to laud his Greek origins.

Drawing heavily on mythological nostalgia and with a definite fatalistic attitude, some of his work reads like a premature eulogy for gays and others who don't fit into the social mold of the era. Others celebrate male beauty and the shadowy world of gays at the time. Of course, considering that Cavafy lives from 1863-1933, this comes as no surprise.

We've posted one poem, Trojans, which both memorializes and condemns gays. Despite it's dreary outcome, it's a beautiful piece of work, but we can't help but wonder what Cavafy would write if he knew of all the advancements made for the homo way over the past few decades.

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