Pederastic kissing on an Attic kylix (5th century BC) Pederasty or paederasty (/ˈpɛdəræsti/) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a boy. It was a socially acknowledged practice in Ancient Greece and Rome and elsewhere in the world, such as Pre-Meiji Japan. In most countries today, the local age of consent determines whether a person is considered legally competent to consent to sexual