The World's Earliest Erotic Graffiti- B/J One shot

[guavejuice]

Author:guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin
AU
Ben's POV
Disclaimer:I own nothing but this story.
Comments are love.

-Astypalaia, Greece, early morning-

Wild, windswept, rocky and remote, Astypalaia is not an obvious place for the unearthing of some of the world's earliest erotic graffiti, so you can probably understand how amazed I am when my colleague Professor Brian Kinney alerts my attention to his amazing discovery.

My name is Ben Bruckner. I'm a professor at Carnegie University in Pittsburgh and I specialize in social studies. I'm also an aspiring author. I mainly write about those times I used to travel a lot around the world to such remote places as Papua New Guinea to conduct all the research for my PhD about the tribal rituals between men in correlation to homo erotic representation in remote cultures. I'm no archaeologist but when my friend and colleague Professor Kinney invited me to join him for a week I informed my husband Micheal that I'm taking a couple weeks off work and embarked on this adventure.

Most of this week went by without too much excitement but today is the final day and as the tall impressive man stands on the edge of the cliff in the rocky peninsula at Vathy pointing over couple of racy inscriptions and large phalluses carved into the stone I feel I just need to delve deeper into this subject matter, no pun.

_ _ _ _ _ _

-A couple of hours later-

"The inscriptions, both dating to the fifth and sixth centuries BC, are so monumental in scale and so tantalisingly clear that I'm left in no doubt of the motivation behind the artworks." My friend Professor Kinney- a renowned archaeologist who got his PhD from Princeton- tells me in excitement as I peer over him to inspect his finding.

"They are what I would call triumphant inscriptions," He continues as a small crowd of his students who are here to help throughout the day gather around him.

We all stand here in this the ancient island world of the Aegean but to me it feels as realistic and as poignant as anything I might encounter in my own culture, my own world.

"Look…they claimed their own space in large letters that not only expressed sexual desire but talked about the act of sex itself," he continues, as he kneels down for closer inspection, "And that is very, very rare." He adds, looking up to face me.

"Looks like this astonishing piece can provide us with invaluable insight into the private lives of those who inhabited archaic and classical Greece," I point out taking another closer look at the the inscriptions chiseled into the outcrops of dolomite limestone. I can clearly notice two giant erect penises facing each other but for the life of me I can't figure out what's written underneath. My fellow professor happily volunteers to translate it for me : "Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona," He reads and I detect an apparent grin in his eyes.

"We know that in ancient Greece sexual desire between men was not a taboo," A blond slightly tanned guy wearing a cropped pair of jeans, light orange t shirt and off white flat Convers intervenes as he peers over Professor Kinney's shoulder. Brian towers above us all but that minor detail doesn't seem to affect the rather boysih looking guy.

"Ben, please Meet Dr. Justin Taylor. He might look young but he's got a lot of experience behind him, " Professor Kinney introduces us.

Dr. Taylor flashes a sudden beaming smile as he reaches his hand towards me. His wrist is adorned with a crowley shell leather bracelets. "I'm here with a team of topographers, photographers, conservationists and students. " he says "I've been in quite a few of those expeditions with Bri.. Professor Kinney before but let me tell you- this graffiti or should I say art work- is not just among the earliest ever discovered, it's a most unique discovery. By using the verb in the past continuous tense, it clearly says that these two men were making love over a long period of time, emphasising the sexual act in a way that is highly unusual in erotic artwork. " he concludes his detailed explanation with another beaming smile.

_ _ _ _ _ _

-Noon, Astypalaia, Greece-

"I have a strong reason to believe that soldiers may once have been garrisoned there," Professor Kinney points out.

"Oh… so you think these guys were in the army together?" I ask, hardly able to contain my excitement. Is it the thrill of the findor the harsh mediterranean sun that's getting to me? Whatever it is, I can clearly detect a somewhat non scientific enthusiastic expression on Professor Kinney and his younger college's faces?

" Most definitely," Brian reassures me. "We found two other penises engraved into limestone beneath the name of Dion, and dating to the fifth century BC, at a lower heights of the cape. They would seem to allude to similar behaviour on the part of Dion," He says, apparently staring at Justin who's approaching the food and water containers. I can see how Brian's eyes follow Justin as the younger man bends over a red and white plastic ice box, grabbing a handful of cold water bottles. He's handing one of them to Brian, the other to me and leaves the last bottle to himself. Then he grabs a couple of wrapped grilled cheese sandwiches from another plastic container and hands those between us.

"Oh and this one's for you, chicken on rye no Mayo," he informs Brian knowingly, handing him his sandwich.

We all take our sits on a few wooden benches that are scattered under a huge local oak tree, seeking it's shade while we nibble on our lunch.

"Whoever wrote the erotic inscription referring to Timiona was very well trained in writing," young Dr. Taylor points out after we all finish our food. "The letters have been very skillfully inscribed on the face of the rock, evidence that it was not just philosophers, scholars and historians who were trained in the art of writing but ordinary people living on islands too." He finishes up his speech. Professor Kinney smiles towards the younger man, takes the plastic cap off and brings the bottle onto his lips, taking down almost half the bottle in one gulp.

"Apparently the people who lived here possessed some other impressive skills. I mean… I can only imagine them, together, skin against skin, their bodies sweaty and glistening in the sun against the ragged rocky terrain overlooking the bay… the top guy Nikasitimos riding the younger one with more than just lust and passion…" Brian concludes his colorful depiction. He puts the bottle down,leaving a few drops of water down his chin and neck. This vision of Brian, holding the half empty water bottle, water dripping down his Grecian god like neck and torso is quite amazing to say the least, even for a happily married man such as myself.

"Sounds fascinating, Brian," I compliment my college. "It takes the very idea of homo erotic representation to a whole new level,"

"Brian… I mean Professor Kinney is a very talented man indeed, " young Dr. Taylor confirms with an open smirk.

"Thank you all," Brian nods somewhat playfully towards us.

"Thank YOU.It has been a wonderful week and a brilliant day, thank you for inviting me, " I let him know.

"You're welcome," Brian smiles "Maybe we could meet again next time we would arrive here. But for now Justin and I really must get back to the hotel to go over all of today's great findings." He smirks and turns to his younger college " Say, Justin, why won't you take a couple more photos of the world's earliest erotic graffiti, just in case?"

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Comments

[yumyumpm.livejournal.com]

This one is just so unusual yet true to characterization. A really enjoyable read.

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you SO much for your warm kind encouraging feedback. It means so much to me to know you enjoyed it. And in case you're wondering- inspiration for a B/J fic can be found EVERYWHERE ;)

[hikinggirl70.livejournal.com]

Very cute!

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and leave such a sweet feedback. This one was really fun to write. I'm pleased to know you enjoyed it :)

[sapphire-3.livejournal.com]

Hey there :-) I finally got a chance to go back and read this. Very cute, and very clever ;-) I've never heard of erotic petroglyths, although I'm not surprised they exist. Although it's not what they put out in display in museums, there is a lot of very racy ancient art and graffiti out there. Much of it is homoerotic, as a lot of cultures accepted homosexuality as part of life. When you had a situation like a conquering army where there are hundreds of men living in tents together for long periods of time, it might even seem inevitable...

Ever heard of the 'Warren Cup' at the British Museum? That's an interesting one (try googling it ;-)

Anyway, unique story and an interesting premise! Thanks so much for sharing :-)

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

I almost squeed when I read the original article ;)
I know that there's a vast world of homo erotic ancient artifacts out there and this one just begged for a B/J AU from Ben's POV lol
I'm SOOO thrilled to know you enjoyed it my dear Em. Thank you for your supportive feedback.
I'll def google Warren Cup =)
Take care
*hugs*