Etymology of "Ephebophilia" (Was: Wondering)

[Carol]

lizzyben wrote:
> 
> That's fine, & you're under no obligation to explain or elaborate
your position, but I was trying to say that it could be seen that you
believe that homosexuality itself is wrong or a moral crime, not just
that "ebiophilia" is wrong or harmful. <snip>

Carol reponds:

I'm staying out of this debate. I just want to correct the spelling of
"ephebophilia" clarify the etymology. It derives from the Greek word
"ephebos" (a youth between 18 and 20 years old). The Latin equivalent
(obviously a borrowed word) is "ephebus." Modern works about ancient
Greeks usually render it as "ephebe." Young men of that age had just
reached manhood and were in most cases undergoing military training.
The relationship between the young Alcibiades (an ephebe) and the much
older Socrates in Plato's "Symposium" is interesting with regard to
this concept.

Side note: "Philia" was used by the Greeks to describe the higher
(that is, nonsexual) forms of love, but, of course, they didn't invent
the term "ephebophilia," which was invented by a psychologist in the
twentieth century.

Carol, staying away from any and all moral judgments and merely
concerned with etymology as an aid to spelling here