Title: The Greeks and Greek love : a radical reappraisal of homosexuality in ancient Greece /
Authors: Davidson, James N.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
Year: 2007
Subjects: Homosexuality Greece History; Homosexuality history
Abstract: James Davidson uses a wide variety of sources - court cases, romantic novels, satirical plays and poems - to present a view of the subject that stresses the humanity of the ancient Greeks, and how they lived their loves and pleasures, rather than their moral codes and the theorising of philosophers.
Contents: Part I : The Greeks had words for it -- Eros in love -- Grace, sex and favours -- Age-classes, love-rules and corrupting the young -- Part II : Sodomania -- Sexing up the Greeks -- Sex versus homosexuality -- Language as a mirror of the world -- Part III : Greek love and Greek religions -- Ganymede rising -- Noonday Phaedrus. Cephalus at dawn -- Pelops and Hyacinthus at new year -- Part IV : Men of war -- Achilles and Heracles -- Crete and Sparta -- The secrets of Elis, the sacred band and Alexander : regional variations -- Syzygies -- Part V : Eros off-duty -- Sappho, Samos and the tomb of the diver : lyrics of Greek love -- Words and pictures : the Athenian system -- The fourth century : politics and the professionals -- Conclusion : a map of Greek love.