Sex - Vice and Love From Antiquity to Modernity

Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity examines the impact that sexual fantasies about the classical world have had on modern Western culture.
* Offers a wealth of information on sex in the Greek and Roman world
* Correlates the study of classical sexuality with modern Western cultures
* Identifies key influential themes in the evolution of erotic discourse from antiquity to modernity
* Presents a serious and thought-provoking topic with great accessibility

List of contents

List of Illustrations ix
 
Preface xi
 
Part I Roman Vice 1
 
1 Introduction 3
 
2 Naked Bodies 7
 
An Introduction (less than successful) to the Naked Body 7
 
The Naked Body in Greece 14
 
Naked Romans 21
 
The Love of Art and the Art of Love 28
 
3 Obscene Texts 34
 
Illustrating the Unspeakable 34
 
Talking Dirty 40
 
4 Erotic Rites 48
 
The Myth of the Orgy 48
 
Locating the Erotic in Roman Religion 55
 
5 Imperial Biography 65
 
The Private Lives of the Caesars 65
 
Explaining Roman Gossip Culture 79
 
Part II Greek Love 89
 
6 Introduction 91
 
What is 'Greek Love'? Scenes from a Courtroom I 92
 
7 Greece 97
 
The Loves of Hellas 97
 
The Platonic Vision 99
 
8 Rome and the West 109
 
Greece under Rome and Rome under Greece 109
 
Greek Love Burns Briefly, but Brightly 119
 
9 Renaissance and Enlightenment 124
 
Giving Birth in the Beautiful 124
 
The Pursuit of Love 135
 
10 Nineteenth Century and Beyond 143
 
Greek Love Triumphant 143
 
Sapphic Love 149
 
A Mixed Legacy: Greek Love in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 159
 
11 Epilogue 164
 
Scenes from a Courtroom II 164
 
Notes and Further Reading 166
 
Bibliography 190
 
Index 205

About the author

Alastair J. L. Blanshard is a senior lecturer in Classics & Ancient History at the University of Sydney. He is the author of Hercules: A Heroic Life (2005).

Summary

Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity examines the impact that sexual fantasies about the classical world have had on modern Western culture.

Product details

• Authors: Blanshard, Alastair Blanshard, Alastair J L Blanshard, Alastair J. L. Blanshard, Alastair J. L. (University of Sydney Blanshard, Blanshard Alastair J. L.
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.07.2015
• EAN: 9781119025481
• ISBN: 978-1-119-02548-1
• No. of pages: 236
• Series: Classical Receptions; Classical Receptions
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > History; Geschichte, Antike, History, Sociology, Social and cultural history, Ancient History, Sex and sexuality, social aspects, Classical Studies, Spezialthemen Geschichte, History Special Topics, Humanistische Studien, Reception of the Ancient World, Rezeption der Antike