Abu Tammam

Born in the 9th century in Jasim — the modern-day Syria’s Daraa province — Abu Tammam was one the greatest poets of the Islamic Golden Age. He popularized the badi’ (New Style) in Arabic poetry, and compiled the Hamasa anthology, a massive collection of early Arabic poetry.  

He actively engaged with the era’s emerging trend of male-love poetry — “ghazal mudhakkar”, a genre of homoerotic verse prevalent in Abbasid court culture — helping elevate the genre into the realm of accepted high literature.

Al-Buhturi

A student of Abu Tammam, who was born in Manbij, in what is now Syria’s Aleppo province. He remains a towering figure in Arabic literary history, known for the musicality, linguistic purity, and emotional clarity of his poetry. His diwan included homoerotic and flirtatious verses addressed to young men.

Meleager of Gadara

A Hellenistic Syrian poet of the 1st century, Meleager is remembered for his love poems, many of which were addressed to both men and women, blending heterosexual and homosexual themes. His book, Garland, formed the nucleus of Greek Anthology, a vast collection of poems covering love, death, satire and everyday life.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus

According to tradition, Sergius and Bacchus were two inseparable Syrians who served in the 3rd-century Roman army. They have been described as lovers and “sweet companions”, and they loved each other as much as they loved their secret Christian faith. Upon the discovery of which by the Roman authorities, they were arrested and paraded around town in women’s clothing. In response, they chanted that they were brides of Christ before their execution.

Saint Marina the Syrian

Born in 5th-century Roman Syria, Marina disguised herself as a man named Marinos to join her widowed father when he entered a monastery. Years later, she was falsely accused of impregnating an innkeeper’s daughter. Choosing to protect her secret rather than prove her innocence, Marina silently accepted the blame and was expelled, raising the child in poverty. Eventually allowed to return and perform menial chores, her true sex — and profound sacrifice — was only discovered by the monks after her death.

Saints Andronicus and Athanasia

The story goes that a wealthy couple from 5th-century Antioch, Andronicus and Athanasia, distributed their wealth and separated to become monks in Egypt after the death of their children. But as luck would have it, Andronicus met his former wife Athanasia while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem 12 years later; though he didn’t recognize her as she was in male attire. The two lived together ascetically for another 12 years. It was only after Athanasia’s death did he discover that the “eunuch monk” was the mother of his dead children.

Saints Cosmas and Damian

Cosmas and Damian were two physicians who practiced medicine and surgery in 3rd-century Roman Syria; treating the poor for free. Early accounts suggest their relationship had homoerotic overtones, though later Christian tradition portrayed them as twins—perhaps to hide those connotations.