Masculinity is manly character. It specifically describes men and boys, that is personal and human, unlike male which can also be used to describe animals, or masculine which can also be used to describe noun classes. When masculine is used to describe men, it can have degrees of comparison—more masculine, most masculine. The opposite can be expressed by terms such as unmanly, epicene or effeminate. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, 3rd. ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1995. A typical near-synonym of masculinity is virility (from Latin vir, man); and the usual complement is femininity.

Ancient

Cicero wrote that "a man's chief quality is courage."

Ancient literature goes back to about 3000 BC. It includes both explicit statements of what was expected of men in laws, and implicit suggestions about masculinity in myths involving gods and heroes. Men throughout history have gone to meet exacting cultural standards of what is considered attractive. Kate Cooper, writing about ancient understandings of femininity, suggests that, "Wherever a woman is mentioned a man's character is being judged — and along with it what he stands for." One well-known representative of this literature is the Code of Hammurabi (from about 1750 BC).

• Rule 3: "If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death."
• Rule 128: "If a man takes a woman to wife, but has no intercourse with her, this woman is no wife to him."

Scholars suggest integrity and equality as masculine values in male-male relationships, and virility in male-female relationships. Legends of ancient heroes include: The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Such narratives are considered to reveal qualities in the hero that inspired respect, like wisdom or courage, the knowing of things that other men do not know and the taking of risks that other men would not dare.

Medieval

Jeffrey Richards describes a European, "medieval masculinity which was essentially Christian and chivalric." Again ethics, courage and generosity are seen as characteristic of the portrayal of men in literary history. In Anglo Saxon, Beowulf and, in several languages, the legends of King Arthur are famous examples of medieval ideals of masculinity. The documented ideals include many examples of an "exaulted" place for women, in romance and courtly love.

Masculine physical attributes

Some research has indicated that a number of women may be aroused by broad chins, high cheekbones, and find large eyes as the most attractive, though there are cultural differences in those preferences. Some research has also indicated that women recognize a good body as indicative of a man of discipline and self-control.