Bisexuality in the Ancient World Paperback – April 1, 2002

Eva Cantarella, University of Milan professor of law produces an exhaustive study of bisexuality of ancient Rome and Greece. What was practiced then and was considered in the norm will surprise the reader when compared to today's world.

Book was in good shape. Shipping fast.

This was a very hard book to find. I'm quite glad I found it and really did enjoy it. It will remain in my permanent collection.

This is a book that talks more about pederasty than mature bisexual relationships. Didn't want to read this stuff...beware. I understand this was part of their culture but a bit misleading on title. To the trash it goes.

Canterall laid out her ideas and arguments based on many references: texts, papers, boos, investigating museums, etc. She makes valid arguments about how one word translation into many languages can change the original format.It was easy to read for a non-scholar like myself. Broken down into manageable parts.The author started with pederasty in Greece. How it was exhalted, intellectual, educational before anything sexual. She explained the 'why' and the 'how' and the 'when'. Boys were worshipped, taught and became leaders.Then when it spread to Rome it degenerated into a sexual thing with no values, no rules, no regulations.Cantarella talked about how lesbiansm, transvestites and inverse love. The writing about Rome was exhaustive, over decades bringing into account all areas of love and prostitution.It was very sad to see how Rome had bastardized pederasty from an important rite of passage with strict rules in Greece to almost a 'free for all in Rome."Then...enter Christianity.

I absolutely loved reading this, was absolutely fascinating and Canterella has a gripping writing style to match the interesting content.The book is split into two parts; the first outlines bisexuality in Greece, the second explores Rome. The book then introduces Christianity and the effect this had on views of homosexuality. It is very interesting to read about how common and very much the norm bisexuality was in both cultures, and how each culture repressed certain expressions and manifestations of same-sex desire and relations depending on their sexist, androcentric world-view, as well as how certain remnants of these archaic ideas remain today. I certainly was not expecting lesbian sex to be reviled by men as this is one way that society currently differs of course, nor was I expecting male same-sex desire to be as commonplace amongst the male population as it was in Rome and Greece as again... not exactly the impression most of us have of the male population. Absolutely fascinating, should be taught in schools as it really does go to show how malleable individuals and society really are in terms of their views and inclincations.

An interesting and accessible read on the topic of sexuality in the ancient classical world.

One of the best monographs in this field. A must have!

Grundsätzlich informativ, die Probleme die ich damit habe sind1. die Autorin hat sich eindeutig nie tiefer mit dem Begriff Bisexualität auseinandergesetzt, denn sie spricht ausschließlich über Homosexualität und Heterosexualität (das mag auf den 1. Blick wie Nitpicking klingen, aber es beeinflusst ihre Konklusionen, die teilweise zweifelhaft sind, und das größtenteils deswegen, weil sie es offenbar nicht für nötig gehalten hat, sich vor ihrem Buch über Sexualität sich mit Sexualität auseinanderzusetzen).2. das Buch scheint sich nicht ganz sicher zu sein, was es sein will. Auf der einen Seite scheint es sich als Einführungswerk zu verstehen, auf der anderen Seite habe ich mir häufig gedacht, hätte ich nicht die Forschungsdebatten gekannt, hätten mich einige Stellen wahrscheinlich verwirrt. Das macht es mir irgendwie schwer, es weiterzuempfehlen, weil ich nicht weiß, wer angesprochen werden soll.

Excellent! Beautifully and sensitively yet objectively written, and explaining a great deal about the sexual habits of our ancient ancestors. Extensively researched; fabulous use of ancient sources.