Foucault's Virginity: Ancient Erotic Fiction and the History of Sexuality (Stanford Memorial Lectures) [Paperback]

Simon Goldhill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0521479347 | ISBN-13: 978-0521479349

This is a study of how sex and sexuality were written about in the first centuries of this era, a central period in the history of sexuality. Writing with the same wit and verve as the ancient writers he engages with, Simon Goldhill shows how the standard accounts of sexuality in this period are distorted by ignoring the sexy, ironic and often bizarre texts of the ancient novel, erotic poetry and humorous dialogues.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important and accessible work. Recommended for graduate and undergraduates." Religious Studies Review

Book Description

This study of how sex and sexuality were written about in the first centuries of this era reveals how the standard accounts were distorted by ignoring the sexy, ironic and often bizarre texts of the ancient novel, erotic poetry and humorous dialogues.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521479347
• ISBN-13: 978-0521479349
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,765,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant investigation of eros in later antiquity, December 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Foucault's Virginity: Ancient Erotic Fiction and the History of Sexuality (Stanford Memorial Lectures) (Paperback)

Goldhill's book aims to counter the massive influence of Foucault's explorations of eros in Greek literature under the Roman empire by demonstrating the greater complexity, irony, and variety of approaches in a host of different authors. Innovative and compelling, it has already garnered a well-deserved reputation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another look at a vast subject, June 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Foucault's Virginity: Ancient Erotic Fiction and the History of Sexuality (The Stanford Memorial Lectures) (Hardcover)

Witty, compelling, brash, frustrating, thoughtful, and just downright fun. Goldhill attempts to out-foucault Foucault. He makes a good case for reading "virginity" as a sly form of knowledge.Taking on the master this broadly is of course folly, but Goldhill does it so entertainingly and with enough rigor to potentially open a new line of discussion in this daunting arena. And I think that's just what Foucault intended, isn't it?

8 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I took Foucalt's virginity when he was seventeen., March 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Foucault's Virginity: Ancient Erotic Fiction and the History of Sexuality (Stanford Memorial Lectures) (Paperback)

Goldhill is - once again - lying through his beard in this, his latest 'book'. I had Foucault - he was a virgin prior to this - so I bought this book with the eager expectation of an account of this brief but pleasurable experience. Yet what do I find? Goldhill's evasions and, yes, outright lies. You liar, Goldhill. Liar.