It's been tolerated in many cultures, but I'm not aware of a single one that gave it a status equal to marriage. Not even Ancient Greece.
Nor did I state as much. However, modern Western civilization is also a culture which is moving toward giving "it" a status equal to marriage. Eight European states have done as much - two explicitly - with Canada soon to follow. Same-sex marriage will likely be uniform across the European Union at some future date. Australia & New Zealand & even South Africa are both moving in that same general direction, and civil unions at least appear not too far off in at least two Latin American nations (Chile and Brazil).