Customer Reviews

The Mimes of the Courtesans

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Lucian of Samosata was born around 125 AD in Samosata in Roman Commagene, or ancient Armenia. Now, unlike a philosopher or moralist, he was not out to change society, instead he was a rhetorician, or an entertaining commentator (think Dave Barry). Many works of his have come down to our time - as a matter of fact there are so many that there is some doubt as to which he actually wrote! But, among those is this work the Mimes of the Courtesans. A Mime was an ancient Greek or Roman stage play, a burlesque or bawdy dialogue.

The Mimes of the Courtesans features a series of dialogues between two courtesans or a courtesan and another, discussing love and sex and the relationship between lovers. It was considered terribly risque for centuries (but survived in the monasteries!), and was not available to the general public. But, in the early part of the 20th century it enjoyed a renaissance, and was printed in many translations.

For me, I found it to be an interesting read. Some of the advice is quite up to date, and some of the situations are quite strange, and some of the actions are quite funny. Don't read this as a serious piece of literature, it isn't that, and never was. Instead, remember what it is, and enjoy reading it - I certainly did!

(Review of The Mimes of the Courtesans)

Lucian of Samosata was born around 125 AD in Samosata in Roman Commagene, or ancient Armenia. Now, unlike a philosopher or moralist, he was not out to change society, instead he was a rhetorician, or an entertaining commentator (think Dave Barry). Many works of his have come down to our time - as a matter of fact there are so many that there is some doubt as to which he actually wrote! But, among those is this work the Mimes of the Courtesans. A Mime was an ancient Greek or Roman stage play, a burlesque or bawdy dialogue.

The Mimes of the Courtesans features a series of dialogues between two courtesans or a courtesan and another, discussing love and sex and the relationship between lovers. It was considered terribly risque for centuries (but survived in the monasteries!), and was not available to the general public. But, in the early part of the 20th century it enjoyed a renaissance, and was printed in many translations.

For me, I found it to be an interesting read. Some of the advice is quite up to date, and some of the situations are quite strange, and some of the actions are quite funny. Don't read this as a serious piece of literature, it isn't that, and never was. Instead, remember what it is, and enjoy reading it - I certainly did!

(Review of The Mimes of the Courtesans)