Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195067223 ISBN 13: 9780195067224

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Can the pornographic be said to have existed in Greece and Rome? This new group of essays points to some striking similarities between our culture and those of the ancient world, challenging Foucauldian assumptions about the nature of sexuality. Covering such topics as vase painting, tragic and comic drama from fifth-century Athens, Hellenistic philosophy and sex manuals, Roman history, poetry, wall-painting, representations of gladiatorial combat, and romance novels, the contributors approach sexuality from both sides of the feminist pornography debate, including the use of film theory. A path-breaking application of feminist theory to the study of Greek and Roman cultures, this book offers new insight into the notion of sexuality in the ancient world.

About this title

About the Author

Amy Richlin is at University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Review

"The high scholarly level of the informative essays and the carefully selected illustrations provide a rare compendium of sources and a sophisticated yet accessible comment on topics today's students hunger to know but, with rare exceptions, are not served as nutritious a course as this
banquet of delights offers."--Paul B. Harvey, Pennsylvania State University

"An excellent collection of essays on eroticism which fulfills a significant gap....Useful for any classicist in literature, art, sociology, and classical culture."--Clifford Braerlmas, St. John Fisher College

"A fine, stimulating, and challenging collection. A superb compliment to other current works on sexuality in the ancient world."--James A. Francis, Rollins College

"As a set these papers make a substantial contribution to classical studies, bringing to bear a complex feminist perspective in an informed, clear, compelling way. This is very much needed, and should have considerable appeal to classicists, feminists, critics and students, and to anyone
interested in antiquity and sexuality."--David Konstan, Brown University

"The authors add significantly to the understanding of sexuality in Greece and Rome by applying feminist theory, among others, to their analyses. The volume is remarkable in part for its feminist authorship....But it is also remarkable for the inclusion of material previously unavailable to
the nonclassicist, for the variety and range of interpretations, and for the discussions of literary texts side by side with visual art....The 13 contributors represent some of the most recent and provocative work in classical scholarship to date. The handy timeline will help the general reader; the
bibliography is particularly useful for the general reader and specialist alike."--Choice

"Most of the papers contain solid scholarship and make an important contribution to understanding classical social and cultural history."--Bowling Green Daily News

"This collection shows that imaginative scholarship can still yield fresh insights."--American Historical Review

"One of the very few large-scale applications of feminist theory to Greco-Roman antiquity."--Richlin, XI

"Well-produced...the authors should be congratulated for tackling the issues rigorously and without straitjacketing their responses."--The Historian

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195067223
• ISBN 13: 9780195067224
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Richlin Amy