In her previous books, Vicki León put readers in the sandals of now obsolete laborers, ranging from funeral clowns to armpit pluckers, and untangled the twisted threads of superstition and science in antiquity. Now, in this book of astonishing true tales of love and sex in long-ago Greece, Rome, and other cultures around the Mediterranean, she opens the doors to shadowy rooms and parts the curtains of decorum.
León goes far beyond what we think we know about sex in ancient times, taking readers on a randy tour of aphrodisiacs and anti-aphrodisiacs, contraception, nymphomania, bisexuality, cross-dressing, and gender-bending. She explains citizens' fear of hermaphrodites, investigates the stinging price paid for adultery despite the ease of divorce, introduces readers to a surprising array of saucy pornographers, and even describes the eco-friendly dildos used by libidinous ancients. Love also gets its due, with true tales of the lifelong bonds between military men, history's first cougar and her devoted relationship with Julius Caesar, and the deification of lovers.
Aphrodisiacs: Love solutions from Aphrodite
Anti-Aphrodisiacs: Reverse Viagra or face-saver?
Spontaneous Generation: Birds, bees, wind in the trees
Hymen: A god, a song, a membrane
Clitoris: From a verb to a deformity
Circumcision: Foreskin meddling
Contraception: Birth control, alpha to omega
Pregnancy & Childbirth: Tattoos, prayers, & birthing bricks
Abortion & Infanticide: The sad arithmetic of babies
Egyptian Fertility: Lettuce love & lust
Masturbation: Solo sex can be divine
Pornographers: A gender-friendly occupation
The Priapeia: Before e-books there were tree-books
Pherenike of Rhodes: Cloaked in Olympic victory
Koan Silk: See-through is sexy
Thargelia of Miletus: Mistress of the marriage-go-round
Mystery Cults: The origin of the orgy
Prostitution: Love for sale, O.B.O.
Male Garb: Clothes made the man—& the hooker
Pulcheria of Byzantium: Power chastity rocked
The Sacred Band: They were called “an army of lovers”
Alex & Hephaestion: Love conquers all—even Alex the Great
Servilia & Julius Caesar: History’s first cougar
Orpheus & Eurydice: Into the mouth of hell for his mate
Seleucus & Family: Father-son solution to forbidden love
Helen of Troy: Homer launches a durable hit
Pericles & Aspasia: Married to love, not to marriage
Berenice & Titus: Jewish princess almost makes empress
Hadrian & Antinoos: Turned his lover into a god
Eunuchs & Castrati: Sensitive men, the hard way
Eunuch Profiles: Household names without heirs
Hermaphrodites: Early warning signs from the gods
Herais, aka Diophantos: Close-up of a gender change
Infibulation: Genital lockups, male & female
Marriage: No shotguns, but everyone from Sparta to Rome had to get married
Adultery: The stinging price of ancient hanky-panky
Divorce: No fault, no fees, no attorneys!
Cross-Dressers: It started with Caligula’s sandals
Gladiator Sex Lives: Even Commodus got lucky
Hispala Fecenia: Wet blanket at the orgy
The Isis Sex Scandal: Anubis loves ya, baby!
Abduction, Seduction, Rape: Unwilling partners
Imperial Julia: “Baby on board” was her all-clear sign
Catullus the Poet: Doomed love was catnip for the X-rated poet
Clodius Pulcher: Rome’s lovable, unspeakable rogue
Menstruation: A flower, a curse, a bitumen remover
Lupercalia Festival: Whip it to me, wolfie!
Thesmophoria Festival: Sharing secrets with girlfriends
Sexual Preference: A rainbow of choices
Tribades: Friction between women? Not always a bad idea
Dildos: Eco-friendly—& sometimes edible!
Outercourse B.C.: Foreplay & backstabbing
Kissing: Loving lips versus foul mouths
Straight from the Source: Love candids
Socrates of Athens: Witty & sexy to the very last
Sophocles & Euripides: Brazenly bisexual playwrights
Mandrakes: Grow your own little mannikin!
Filthy Gestures, Images, Language: What obscene really did mean
Callipygia Worship: Rear end fixation
Etruscan Amore: Open affection, Etruscan style
Perpetua, Christian Martyr: Blood lovingly shed
Octavia & Mark Antony: Mother love trumps the rest
Vestal Virgins: Cut to the chaste
Imperial Branding: Gotta love that emperor—he’s everywhere
Divas Livia & the Julias: Not easy, becoming a goddess
Animal Worship: Fishy love stories & feline tales
Cetacean Adoration: Nearly divine dolphin rescues
Hypatia of Alexandria: Taught the truth, loved it to death
The Great God Pan: Not dead, just poorly translated
Satyr Plays: Satyrists made Athens laugh
Vestal Virgins: Scapegoats in dire straits
Nymphomania & Satyriasis: Uterine fury & sex addiction
Nero’s Career Defilement: Penetrating news update
Emperor Tiberius, Voyeur: The arcane lusts of Tiberius
Eros, the God of Sexual Passion: Under the rose, anything goes
The Erotes: Love posse to the sex goddess
Alkibiades of Athens: Number-one hottie among women—& men
Amazons: Warriors who loved their freedom—& their boobs
Family Affairs: Incest, three ways
Ankhesenamun of Egypt: Loved her family, not sure about Grandpa
Snake Adoration: Healers, prophets, & bunkmates
Teiresias the Seer: Gender-bender & orgasm expert
Straight from the Source: Love gone wrong
Ovid the Love Poet: Life in the Fasti lane
Sappho’s Bane: Remembering odious Rosycheeks
Hypsicratea: Amazon turned historian? A love story
Empress Messalina: Lost her head over excess husbands
Orgasms: The climax of the mating game—& life