Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality

by Bruce S. Thornton

Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality is a controversial book that lays bare the meanings Greeks gave to sex. Contrary to the romantic idealization of sex dominating our culture, the Greeks saw eros as a powerful force of nature, potentially dangerous and in need of control by society: Eros the Destroyer, not Cupid the Insipid, fired the Greek imagination. The destructiveness of eros can be seen in Greek imagery and metaphor, and in the Greeks’ attitudes toward women and homosexuals. Images of love as fire, disease, storms, insanity and violence—Top 40 song clichés for us—locate eros among the unpredictable and deadly forces of nature. The beautiful Aphrodite embodies the alluring danger of sex, while femmes fatales like Pandora and Helen represent the risky charms of female sexuality. And homosexuality typifies for the Greeks the frightening power of an indiscriminate appetite that threatens the stability of culture itself.In Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality, Bruce Thornton offers a uniquely sweeping and comprehensive account of ancient sexuality free of currently fashionable theoretical jargon and pretentions. In its conclusions the book challenges the distortions of much recent scholarship on Greek sexuality. And throughout it links the wary attitudes of the Greeks to our present-day concerns about love, sex, and family. What we see, finally, are the origins of some of our own views as well as a vision of sexuality that is perhaps more honest and mature than our own dangerous illusions.

Genres: History, Sexuality, Nonfiction, Sociology, Ancient History, Philosophy, Greece

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Bruce S. Thornton grew up on a cattle ranch in Fresno County, California. He received his B.A. in Latin from UCLA in 1975, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature: Greek, Latin, and English, from UCLA in 1983.

Thornton is currently Professor of Classics and Humanities at the California State University in Fresno, California. He is the author of eight books and numerous essays and reviews on Greek culture and civilization and their influence on Western civilization. He also has written on contemporary political and educational issues, as well as lecturing at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute, Hoover Institution and the Air Force Academy, as well as numerous colleges and universities.

He was a 2009-2011 Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he currently is a research fellow.

Reviews

[Fiona Montgomery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept of this book and some of the parts. It was the execution that was boring and monotonous. After only 1/3 through the book, I only found two points that made me think.

Maybe I’d get this from the library again, but I would not purchase.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very stimulating. Plus, I love when a writer sets out to demolish conventional wisdom with conviction.