Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens

by Eva C. Keuls

At once daring and authoritative, this book offers a profusely illustrated history of sexual politics in ancient Athens.

The phallus was pictured everywhere in ancient painted on vases, sculpted in marble, held aloft in gigantic form in public processions, and shown in stage comedies. This obsession with the phallus dominated almost every aspect of public life, influencing law, myth, and customs, affecting family life, the status of women, even foreign policy.

This is the first book to draw together all the elements that made up the "reign of the phallus"―men's blatant claim to general dominance, the myths of rape and conquest of women, and the reduction of sex to a game of dominance and submission, both of women by men and of men by men.

In her elegant and lucid text Eva Keuls not only examines the ideology and practices that underlay the reign of the phallus, but also uncovers an intense counter-movement―the earliest expressions of feminism and antimilitarism.

Complementing the text are 345 reproductions of Athenian vase paintings. Some have been reproduced in a larger format and gathered in an appendix for easy reference and closer study. These revealing illustrations are a vivid demonstration that classical Athens was more sexually polarized and repressive of women than any other culture in Western history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Sexuality, Greece, Feminism, Politics, Art

492 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1985

Reviews

[Marti Martinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Men are pigs and Athenian democracy was a lie.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being a scholar of vase painting interpretation, I can't say if her conclusions regarding vase imagery are correct. However, the book is well written and seems to be a good exposition of Athenian sexual politics and mores in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. I'd be interested to see if there have been any scholarly rebuttals or arguments in support of her positions.

Three stars because the author's voice isn't objective. There is a distinct tone of almost personal offense and injury at the descriptions of abuse (by modern terms) of women. The topic would be better served with less of a wounded air.

[Apollo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must honestly admit that it has been a very long time indeed since I have read a tedious book as this one. I found it however, quite interesting, not only because of its informative content but also because of its 20th/21st century "feminist" undertones and subjective interpretations. Words such as "denigrate", "sequester", "gynophobia", etc. could only be the unfair outcome of applying paradigms from our modern social times in the West to a Great civilisation of thousands of years ago. Here are some brief thoughts and considerations. How long has it taken the Christian church to accept women as priests? A subject which continues to be controversial to this day. In ancient Greece it was women "Priestesses", that had the ultimate authority or power to administer religious rites. Deities were devided in female and male gods and goddesses. Economy is derived from the Greek word "oikonomia" from "oikonomos" meaning "Manager of a Household". In ancient Greece, women although removed from political affairs and responsibilities, they had great responsibility in running and managing all of their household affairs. In theatrical plays, both comedies and tradegies, women characters were given extremely powerful and poignant roles, (Medea, Lysistrata, Electra, etc.). They weren't allowed to perform on stage, but they weren't in Shakespeare's time either. In 1907 Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecency because she was wearing a fitted one-piece bathing suit in public. In 1920s, officials were tasked by authorities to measure women’s bathing suits above the knee, and women were fined if their suits were considered to be too short. In the Boston 1967 Marathon race organisers attempted to stop Kathrine Switzer from competing. And finally how long has it taken for the electoral system to allow voting by women in the West (Ref: Suffrage movements in 19th/20th centuries where women frustrated by their social and economic situation...!)? I’ll leave out of this review, the homophobic culture of recent times, that led to the inhumane and cruel treatment of many, (Oscar Wilde, Alan Turing, etc.) or indeed earlier, in medieval times, the impalement and other unthinkable tortures women were subjected to because they were considered to be witches! How could someone, make these rather sweeping interpretations, venomous at times, and draw hyperbolic conclusions from the study of a set of artistic "erotica" vase paintings and of comedy and tragedy plays, defeats comprehension. I wonder what interpretation would be given to the so called "erotica" photo-pornographic filth and obscene material available in abundance today! The epilogue of Keuls feminist ranting is curiously turned against Akexander THE GREAT that Keuls chose to refer to in quotation marks as “the great”! Her “analysis” of the Pompeii Alexander The Great mosaic is reminiscent of the pathetic and tedious art “critics” that deduced misogyny and mutilation in Picasso’s and Dali’s masterpieces! GREAT! Or should rather say “great”.

However, whatever the case and view one wishes to maintain or adopt, it is clear that the subject of ancient Greece continues to evoke an immense interest and fascination.

[Bonnie Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trip down the road of history is made interesting by a female and academic perspective. This book gives us some insight into ancient Athens by looking at the clues left in surviving artwork and other items that have survived through the ages. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the mindset of ancient Athenians.

[Trenchologist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book way back when as an undergrad for a class. We read maybe one chapter, despite its scope and expense--something that happens too often in coursework. I've held onto it ever since with the vague notion I should and wanted to read it, because the bit we did read was interesting. My extra 'Just read it 2021' challenge/goal provided the perfect 'if not now, when' reason to do so.

This one took time to get through. I don't mean that as a negative or want to characterize it as a slog; but it needed a certain level of attention and with all the images referenced, a lot of page flipping, studying the images, and returning to the text.

I will hazard it is no longer vanguard. I'm not an avid student of Greek history or the Classical eras so I am not aware of what might have been published since either adding to, refuting, or synthesizing Keuls' scholarship. A quick google didn't turn up much, but I also didn't park in a research library looking for more.

However, given its an academic text and a deep dive into a specific field, and greatly helped by its lively and confident prose and concrete as well as seemingly expert whys behind the theories raised, it still resonates, seems still relevant, and certainly influenced work on ancient Athens that came after.

The nuance of reading stance, gesture, and symbolism in interpreting vase paintings alone is worth reading.

And boy were times for women (for anyone except male citizens) *grim.* Not tough to imagine, however, including how so many R/national groups and movements idealize and idolize "western civ" that they think began and should end again in Athens. It also didn't come as a surprise to me, based on what else I've read, learned, know of the prevailing mores of the era. I believe that can probably in part be attested because of this very book.

Keuls' theory on the whodunit of vandalizing the Herms holds up.

Really glad I finally got to this one.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this yonks ago when it came out and just ate it up. And I certainly plowed through it in record time for a second read, even having to flip pages back and forth to keep up with the illustrations.
It's a thoughtful book, backing up ancient art with contemporary history (such as Thucydides) and literature (Aristophanes, et alia). The author has an interesting theory of how lots of willies got knocked off the Hermes statues that stood outside Athenian homes that makes more sense than the airy accusation I read recently that it was inveterate bad-boy Alcibiades. Why the general who was most insistent on the mission to Sicily would jeopardize it by mutilating images of the god of travelers makes no sense. No one knew who did it back then and no clear case against any culprits has developed since. I like Keuls's idea, but it may be too much to hope for.
I don't like the interpretation of Socrates' last words as much as I like the one about the sacrifice of a cock to Asclepius being for the healing of Plato - who wasn't there to witness anything of the death because he was ill. We can never know these things, but there is the fun of speculation.
The women of sixth and fifth centuries Athens lived in purdah, unless they were foreigners or prostitutes. They had no freedom and were good for nothing but producing male heirs and maybe a little light household management. The ultimate accolade was to never have been seen by any man other than her husband. And apparently precious little by him. The women's quarters were kept apart from the rest of the house, behind a closed door. The dining room was only for husbands and their male friends - and guest prostitutes. Education for women was discouraged as it would only make their evil propensities worse.
This only lightened up after the Spartan defeat of Athens leading to the death and enslavement of the soldiers. Very few returned to Athens and, well, someone had to get the work done. This reminded me of the book I read in the 70s about women during the Revolutionary War in America and how they had to step up and run farms and businesses, with wildly varying success, while their men were away. Abigail Adams enjoined her husband to remember the ladies when Congress made laws, which he scoffed at with condescension. Maybe it was her dodgy spelling. She had been running their farm while he was away.
It was nice to read that Socrates was relatively feminist. No wonder he had to be executed. Keuls claims that the Roman Stoic, Musonius Rufus, has been sidelined over the centuries because of his feminism but (and this is about 40 years after publishing) I found plenty of material in multiple formats on or by him online. Aristotle was not only misogynistic, but totally wrong about conception. I haven't gotten to that part of Aristotle because I get mired in the philology.
Now I have to read Aristophanes' "Thesmophoriazousai" because I have no memory of it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I disagreed with bits and pieces (mostly about the chapters regarding homosexuality), Keuls writes gold with The Reign of the Phallus. She took a fascinating topic and mixed it in a blender of academia, adding a pinch of mystery and dashes of intrigue.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no book like this one. Keuls was able to see all those x-rated vases locked away in museums to understand and lay out her thesis about the male-dominated Greek society. I am convinced.