- Hardcover: 656 pages
- Publisher: W&N (8 Nov 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297819976
- ISBN-13: 978-0297819974
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16.8 x 5.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
347,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Religions > Ancient European & Mediterranean Religions > Ancient Greek
- #72 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > History > Gay
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Review
'This is an excellent book on an important subject.' (Oswyn Murray LITERARY REVIEW )
'a picture of sexuality among the ancient Greeks which is both familiar in some respects and radically new... with witty diversions... quite an achievement' (Joan Smith THE INDEPENDENT )
'an impressive study stuffed with juicy tidbits and meaty detail' (BOYZ )
'a long haul over strange terrain, spiky with fragments and pulsating with beautiful ghosts... massive work of research, reflection and surprise' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
'a highly erudite work of social and cultural history, astonishingly wide-ranging... an extraordinary achievement, ranging far and wide... unpredictable and lateral-thinking... superb...' (Oliver Taplin THE GUARDIAN )
'Massively informed and informative ... vital and outstanding study.' (THE SPECTATOR )
'James Davidson's revisionist account emerges with winning charm from the bloodshed... a landmark in gay studies' (Tom Cameron TIME OUT )
'will be read by many people, and I predict a riot... real brilliance, and it is written throughout with flair and passion' (Simon Goldhill THES )
'fascinating, funny, decidedly comprehensive... entertaining and discursive' (GAY COMMUNITY NEWS )
'By turns lyrical, analytic and militant, this is a magnificently personal and self-reflexive book...' (Catharine Edwards TLS )
'Davidson, with his wit, range and learning is able to admit honestly the limitations of historical understanding, while never being less than fascinating.' (Christopher Hart THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
'provocative and enthralling... fascinating and perplexing.' (QX INTERNATIONAL )
'a picture of sexuality among the ancient Greeks which is both familiar in some respects and radically new... with witty diversions... quite an achievement' (Joan Smith THE INDEPENDENT )
'an impressive study stuffed with juicy tidbits and meaty detail' (BOYZ )
'a long haul over strange terrain, spiky with fragments and pulsating with beautiful ghosts... massive work of research, reflection and surprise' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
'a highly erudite work of social and cultural history, astonishingly wide-ranging... an extraordinary achievement, ranging far and wide... unpredictable and lateral-thinking... superb...' (Oliver Taplin THE GUARDIAN )
'Massively informed and informative ... vital and outstanding study.' (THE SPECTATOR )
'James Davidson's revisionist account emerges with winning charm from the bloodshed... a landmark in gay studies' (Tom Cameron TIME OUT )
'will be read by many people, and I predict a riot... real brilliance, and it is written throughout with flair and passion' (Simon Goldhill THES )
'fascinating, funny, decidedly comprehensive... entertaining and discursive' (GAY COMMUNITY NEWS )
'By turns lyrical, analytic and militant, this is a magnificently personal and self-reflexive book...' (Catharine Edwards TLS )
'Davidson, with his wit, range and learning is able to admit honestly the limitations of historical understanding, while never being less than fascinating.' (Christopher Hart THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
'provocative and enthralling... fascinating and perplexing.' (QX INTERNATIONAL )
Joan Smith, THE INDEPENDENT
'a picture of sexuality among the ancient Greeks which is both familiar in some respects and radically new... with witty diversions... quite an achievement'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Greek construction of male sexuality has fascinated scholars since the 19th century and before, and it was recognised that the subject was complex. Then came Kenneth Dover's important study, which seemed to put everything in order and to make the whole subject readily comprehensible.
Davidson recognises that it is anything but ordered and straightforward. This is a social phenomenon that lasted several centuries, and spanned very different Greek cultures. It's hardly likely that the Spartans, the Athenians and the Cretans would all have had identical behaviour patterns. So if Davidson seems confusing, that's because he's trying to be faithful to the topic. Yes, he does need a good editor to focus his writing, but for the time being this is the best study that we have.
That said, there is a whole range of Greek art forms - not just vases - that have visual evidence which literally illuminates the subject: sculpture, cameos, murals, metalwork, etc, etc. If Davidson had paid greater attention to the wealth of unexplored material, then his criticisms of Dover would be a lot sharper and his insights would be more useful.
So maybe Davidson will favour us with a revised second edition that tackles these issues: then that really could be an important work.
Davidson recognises that it is anything but ordered and straightforward. This is a social phenomenon that lasted several centuries, and spanned very different Greek cultures. It's hardly likely that the Spartans, the Athenians and the Cretans would all have had identical behaviour patterns. So if Davidson seems confusing, that's because he's trying to be faithful to the topic. Yes, he does need a good editor to focus his writing, but for the time being this is the best study that we have.
That said, there is a whole range of Greek art forms - not just vases - that have visual evidence which literally illuminates the subject: sculpture, cameos, murals, metalwork, etc, etc. If Davidson had paid greater attention to the wealth of unexplored material, then his criticisms of Dover would be a lot sharper and his insights would be more useful.
So maybe Davidson will favour us with a revised second edition that tackles these issues: then that really could be an important work.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I really wanted to love this book. It seemed to have everything required for a good one, to me; a subject on which I was very interested, an author who seemed, based on the introduction, to be lively, highly intelligent, and perhaps just a touch whimsical - and yet it's such a massive let-down.
And the main reason is an absolutely simple one: this is the worst-structured non-fiction book I have ever read. It seems to adhere to no hypothesis on Davidson's part, the chapters seem to jump around randomly in their focus, and Davidson all too easily gets mired in subsidiary detail which is largely irrelevant. (Was Alexander really as famously chaste as established history has lead us to believe?) What I got in this book was an avalanche of detail and meta-detail on the subject which not only renders the book essentially unreadable, but completely drowns out what Davidson is trying to say on the subject. So we don't have an introduction to the subject, but neither do we have anything approaching Davidson's own theory of the subject - or at least not, to me, in any terms that are intelligible. Was homosexuality in the ancient world more accepted than contemporary academic understanding credits it with being? Less? Having read the book, I'm still not entirely sure.
I just hope that Davidson gives another go at this, and instead of putting down a rambling PhD thesis in book form, actually writes a book next time. He's clearly an extremely gifted classicist and has a passion for the subject, so there's no reason why he couldn't write a brilliant book on the subject. But I can only judge this book on its merits. And as such, it's got to be absolutely no more than two stars from me.
And the main reason is an absolutely simple one: this is the worst-structured non-fiction book I have ever read. It seems to adhere to no hypothesis on Davidson's part, the chapters seem to jump around randomly in their focus, and Davidson all too easily gets mired in subsidiary detail which is largely irrelevant. (Was Alexander really as famously chaste as established history has lead us to believe?) What I got in this book was an avalanche of detail and meta-detail on the subject which not only renders the book essentially unreadable, but completely drowns out what Davidson is trying to say on the subject. So we don't have an introduction to the subject, but neither do we have anything approaching Davidson's own theory of the subject - or at least not, to me, in any terms that are intelligible. Was homosexuality in the ancient world more accepted than contemporary academic understanding credits it with being? Less? Having read the book, I'm still not entirely sure.
I just hope that Davidson gives another go at this, and instead of putting down a rambling PhD thesis in book form, actually writes a book next time. He's clearly an extremely gifted classicist and has a passion for the subject, so there's no reason why he couldn't write a brilliant book on the subject. But I can only judge this book on its merits. And as such, it's got to be absolutely no more than two stars from me.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Davidson's previous book (Fishcakes and Courtesans) was one of the best things ever written on the Ancient World. By contrast, this one should have had the serious attentions of an editor, who would, first of all, have reduced its length by at least half. And then controlled Davidson's runaway propensity for slang terms, neologisms and typographical innovations, all of which are confusing and irritating. I do now believe I have read the whole book (to do so from cover to cover in the order it is written is impossible) but I am still not clear what he is trying to say: was homosexuality the accepted norm in ancient Greece or not? It seems, reading between the lines, that Davidson thinks it wasn't (in the earlier book, he says so more clearly), but then, what is he trying to say? As far as I can see, only that certain sorts of male-male relationships (not necessarily physical) were ritualized, in different ways in different places (big deal), and that some cities even had to pass legislation fobidding the condemnation of homosexuality (a gay lobby at work, even then).
The first one-third of the book is an entertaining read. After that, it's something for professional classicists only.
The first one-third of the book is an entertaining read. After that, it's something for professional classicists only.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
On and on and on
The concept of the book was interesting. but it just went on and on and on. It so badly needed to have been better edited. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by Sparta
Too much personal investment?
James Davidson is a renowned classicist but sadly I feel that too much personal emotional investment in this topic has rather stilted or skewed his usual insightful readings. Read more
Published on 8 May 2008 by Roman Clodia
Great book
Definitive study of homosexuality in Ancient Greece, written beautifully by an academic who really knows his stuff but is able to communicate it clearly to the world at large. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2007 by Sarah Lucy Cooper
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