Erotica in ancient Greece
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| The [[ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] often painted sexual scenes on their [[Ceramic art|ceramics]], many of them famous for being some of the earliest depictions of [[homosexuality|same-sex relations]] and [[pederasty]]. Greek art often portrays sexual activity, but it is impossible to distinguish between what to them was illegal or immoral since the ancient Greeks did not have a concept of pornography. Their art simply reflects scenes from daily life, some more sexual than others. Carved [[phallus|phalli]] can be seen in places of worship such as the temple of [[Dionysus]] on [[Delos]], while a common household item and protective charm was the [[herma|herm]], a statue consisting of a head on a square plinth with a prominent phallus on the front. The Greek male ideal had a [[small penis]], an aesthetic the Romans later adopted. The Greeks also created the first well-known instance of [[lesbianism in erotica|lesbian eroticism]] in the West, with [[Sappho]]'s ''[[Hymn to Aphrodite]]'' and other [[homoeroticism|homoerotic]] works. | The [[ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] often painted sexual scenes on their [[Ceramic art|ceramics]], many of them famous for being some of the earliest depictions of [[homosexuality|same-sex relations]] and [[pederasty]]. Greek art often portrays sexual activity, but it is impossible to distinguish between what to them was illegal or immoral since the ancient Greeks did not have a concept of pornography. Their art simply reflects scenes from daily life, some more sexual than others. Carved [[phallus|phalli]] can be seen in places of worship such as the temple of [[Dionysus]] on [[Delos]], while a common household item and protective charm was the [[herma|herm]], a statue consisting of a head on a square plinth with a prominent phallus on the front. The Greek male ideal had a [[small penis]], an aesthetic the Romans later adopted. The Greeks also created the first well-known instance of [[lesbianism in erotica|lesbian eroticism]] in the West, with [[Sappho]]'s ''[[Hymn to Aphrodite]]'' and other [[homoeroticism|homoerotic]] works. | ||
| - | ====Milesian tales==== | + | ==Milesian tales== |
| :''[[Milesian tales]]'' | :''[[Milesian tales]]'' | ||
| The '''Milesian tales''' are the earliest instances of [[erotic literature]] in the Western world. They directly influenced [[Apuleius]]' ''[[The Golden Ass]]'', [[Petronius]]' ''[[Satyricon]]'' in antiquity. They were mentioned in ''[[Traitté de l'origine des romans]]''. Aristidean saucy and disreputable heroes and spicy, fast-paced anecdote resurfaced in the medieval ''[[fabliau]]x''. [[Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Miller's Tale]]'' is in Aristides' tradition, as are some of the saltier tales in [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]'s ''[[The Decameron|Decameron]]'' or the ''[[Heptameron]]'' of [[Marguerite of Navarre]] and the later genre of the [[picaresque novel]]. | The '''Milesian tales''' are the earliest instances of [[erotic literature]] in the Western world. They directly influenced [[Apuleius]]' ''[[The Golden Ass]]'', [[Petronius]]' ''[[Satyricon]]'' in antiquity. They were mentioned in ''[[Traitté de l'origine des romans]]''. Aristidean saucy and disreputable heroes and spicy, fast-paced anecdote resurfaced in the medieval ''[[fabliau]]x''. [[Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Miller's Tale]]'' is in Aristides' tradition, as are some of the saltier tales in [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]'s ''[[The Decameron|Decameron]]'' or the ''[[Heptameron]]'' of [[Marguerite of Navarre]] and the later genre of the [[picaresque novel]]. | ||
| + | == Anacreontea == | ||
| + | |||
| + | :''[[Anacreontea]]'' | ||
| + | '''''Anacreontea''''' (᾿Ανακρεόντεια) is the title given to a collection of | ||
| + | [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] poems on the topics of [[wine]], [[beauty]], [[erotic love]], [[Dionysus]], etc. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, attributed [[pseudepigraphy|pseudepigraphically]] to [[Anacreon]]. | ||
| ==Lysistrata== | ==Lysistrata== | ||
| :''[[Lysistrata]]'' | :''[[Lysistrata]]'' | ||
Revision as of 18:16, 28 September 2009
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- ancient erotica
- Homosexuality in ancient Greece, erotica, Greece, pederasty, Sotadic zone, male prostitution in the arts
The ancient Greeks often painted sexual scenes on their ceramics, many of them famous for being some of the earliest depictions of same-sex relations and pederasty. Greek art often portrays sexual activity, but it is impossible to distinguish between what to them was illegal or immoral since the ancient Greeks did not have a concept of pornography. Their art simply reflects scenes from daily life, some more sexual than others. Carved phalli can be seen in places of worship such as the temple of Dionysus on Delos, while a common household item and protective charm was the herm, a statue consisting of a head on a square plinth with a prominent phallus on the front. The Greek male ideal had a small penis, an aesthetic the Romans later adopted. The Greeks also created the first well-known instance of lesbian eroticism in the West, with Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite and other homoerotic works.
Contents |
Milesian tales
The Milesian tales are the earliest instances of erotic literature in the Western world. They directly influenced Apuleius' The Golden Ass, Petronius' Satyricon in antiquity. They were mentioned in Traitté de l'origine des romans. Aristidean saucy and disreputable heroes and spicy, fast-paced anecdote resurfaced in the medieval fabliaux. Chaucer's The Miller's Tale is in Aristides' tradition, as are some of the saltier tales in Boccaccio's Decameron or the Heptameron of Marguerite of Navarre and the later genre of the picaresque novel.
Anacreontea
Anacreontea (᾿Ανακρεόντεια) is the title given to a collection of Greek poems on the topics of wine, beauty, erotic love, Dionysus, etc. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon.
Lysistrata
Lysistrata loosely translated to "she who disbands armies", is an anti-war Greek comedy, written in 411 BCE by Aristophanes. A group of women go on a sex strike as long as their husbands persist in going to war, thus the play is also an allegory of the war of the sexes. It was most famously illustrated by the British illustrator Aubrey Beardsley.
Baubo
Baubo is an old woman in Greek mythology who jested with Demeter when she was mourning the loss of her daughter Persephone.
In his Greek Myths, Robert Graves writes that Demeter (in disguise) was the guest of King Celeus in Eleusis. The lame daughter of the King, Iambe, "tried to console Demeter with comically lascivious verses, and a dry nurse, old Baubo, persuaded her to drink barley-water by a jest: she groaned as if in great travail and, unexpectedly, produced from beneath her skirt Demeter's own son Iacchus, who leapt into his mother's arms and kissed her." Graves writes, "Iambe and Baubo personify the obscene songs, in iambic metre, which were sung to relieve emotional tension at the Eleusinian Mysteries; but Iambe, Demeter, and Baubo form the familiar triad of maiden, nymph, and crone. Old nurses in Greek myth nearly always stand for the goddess as crone."
