Sex on Show: Seeing the Erotic in Greece and Rome (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780520280205)

The ancient Greeks and Romans were not shy about sex. Phallic imagery, sex scenes, and the lively activities of their promiscuous gods adorned many objects, buildings, and sculptures. Drinking cups, oil-lamps, and walls were decorated with scenes of seduction; statues of erect penises served as boundary-stones and signposts; and marble satyrs and nymphs grappled in gardens.

Caroline Vout examines the abundance of sexual imagery in Greek and Roman culture. Were these images intended to be shocking, humorous, or exciting? Are they about sex or love? How are we to know whether our responses to them are akin to those of the ancients? The answers to these questions provide fascinating insights into ancient attitudes toward religion, politics, sex, gender, and the body. They also reveal how the ancients saw themselves and their world, and how subsequent centuries have seen them. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this lively and thought-provoking book not only addresses theories of sexual practice and social history, it is also a visual history of what it meant and still means to stare sex in the face.

Author: Caroline Vout
ISBN-10: 0520280202
ISBN-13: 9780520280205
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 11/06/2013
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.10lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.50w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/08/2013 pg. 17
Library Journal 03/01/2014 pg. 88
Choice 06/01/2014