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"Davidson's own scholarship is impressive, but worn lightly, and matched with an easy tone that makes The Greeks and Greek Love a lively, and often very funny, read" (LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS )
"poses a radical challenge to prominent assumptions about same-sex love in ancient Greece" (OXONIAN REVIEW )
"poses a radical challenge to prominent assumptions about same-sex love in ancient Greece" (OXONIAN REVIEW )
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'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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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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