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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.
