Synopses & Reviews
Over the past quarter century, the study of Greco-Roman sexualities has become an important sub-discipline within classical studies, forming a fundamental component of the emerging fields of historical sexology and cultural studies.
A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities presents a comprehensive collection of original essays relating to aspects of gender and sexuality in the classical world. Featuring contributions from more than 40 top international scholars, readings synthesize current work in the field while pointing to promising new directions for future scholarship.
Not restricted by narrow modern categories of sexuality, this collection offers a systematic and holistic view of various practices and discursive contexts of sexuality of the ancient world. Rather than treating Greece and Rome separately, each chapter covers both cultures with sensitivity to the continuities and differences between the two classical civilizations. Some chapters examine evidence through the lens of literary and artistic genres, evaluating each in terms of its own unique conventions. Other chapters address various social environments of sexual conduct (athletics, cult, the military, the banquet), and technical disciplines such as medicine, biology, magic, physiognomy, and dream interpretation. Drawing from a broad spectrum of theoretical perspectives, A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities expands and offers insights into our current understanding of sexuality and gender roles in the classical period, as well as their influence on more modern understandings of sexuality.
Synopsis
A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities presents a comprehensive collection of original essays relating to aspects of gender and sexuality in the classical world.
- Views the various practices and discursive contexts of sexuality systematically and holistically
- Discusses Greece and Rome in each chapter, with sensitivity to the continuities and differences between the two classical civilizations
- Addresses the classical influence on the understanding of later ages and religion
- Covers artistic and literary genres, various social environments of sexual conduct, and the technical disciplines of medicine, magic, physiognomy, and dream interpretation
- Features contributions from more than 40 top international scholars
About the Author
Thomas K. Hubbard is Professor of Classics and holder of the Mary Helen Thompson Centennial Professorship in the Humanities at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the editor of Greek Love Reconsidered (2000) and Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook of Basic Documents (2003), and the author of numerous articles on ancient sexuality.
Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Notes on Contributors xi
Abbreviations xvii
Note on Ancient Greek Words, Names, and Titles xxvii
1 Feminist Theory 1
Marilyn B. Skinner
2 Studies of Ancient Masculinity 17
Mark Masterson
3 Desirability and the Body 31
Mark D. Stansbury-O’Donnell
4 Foucault’s History of Sexuality and the Discipline of Classics 54
Kirk Ormand
5 Greek and Roman Marriage 69
Allison Glazebrook and Kelly Olson
6 Prostitution: Controversies and New Approaches 83
Thomas A. J. McGinn
7 Ancient Pederasty: An Introduction 102
Andrew Lear
8 Peer Homosexuality 128
Thomas K. Hubbard
9 Female Homoeroticism 150
Sandra Boehringer
10 From Ascesis to Sexual Renunciation 164
Thomas K. Hubbard and Maria Doerfler
11 Sexual Abuse and Sexual Rights: Slaves’ Erotic Experience at Athens and Rome 184
Edward E. Cohen
12 Sumposion 199
Sean Corner
13 Sexuality in Greek and Roman Religion 214
Jennifer Larson
14 Sexuality in Greek and Roman Military Contexts 230
David D. Leitao
15 Athletics and Sexuality 244
Nick Fisher
16 Phusis and Sensuality: Knowing the Body in Greek Erotic Culture 265
Giulia Sissa
17 Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered: Erotic Magic in the Greco-Roman World 282
Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
18 Dream Interpretation, Physiognomy, Body Divination 297
Christophe Chandezon, Veronique Dasen, and Jerome Wilgaux
19 Sex in Ancient Greek and Roman Epic 314
Ingrid E. Holmberg
20 Erotic Lyric 335
Richard Rawles and Bartolo Natoli
21 Sexuality in the Extant Greek and Roman Tragedies 352
Hanna M. Roisman
22 The Body Politic: Sexuality in Greek and Roman Comedy and Mime 366
Monica Florence
23 Greco-Roman Satirical Poetry 381
Ralph M. Rosen and Catherine C. Keane
24 Greek and Roman Ethnosexuality 398
Joseph Roisman
25 Platonic and Roman Influence on Stoic and Epicurean Sexual Ethics 417
James Jope
26 Sexual Rhetoric: From Athens to Rome 431
Allison Glazebrook
27 Biography 446
Caroline Vout
28 Epistolography 463
Owen Hodkinson
29 Paths of Love: Age and Gender Dynamics in the Erotic Novel 479
T. Wade Richardson
30 Sexual Themes in Greek and Latin Graffiti 493
Craig Williams
31 Sexuality and Visual Representation 509
John R. Clarke
32 Sexuality in Jewish Writings from 200 BCE to 200 CE 534
Mary R. D’Angelo
33 Early Christian Sexuality 549
Kathy L. Gaca
34 The Early Modern Erotic Imagination 565
Alastair J. L. Blanshard
35 Romantic Appropriations 583
Michael Matthew Kaylor
36 The Early Homophile Movement in Germany 599
Hans Peter Obermayer
37 Ancient Sexuality on Screen 613
Monica S. Cyrino
Index of Ancient Works Cited 629
General Index 647