Customer Reviews

Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity

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Wispy and suggestive, this little book addresses the historical accounts, mythological examples and religious explanations of dual sexuality in the ancient world. This one is definitely not a treatise in current cultural studies, as the only authors cited are ancients. While Brisson does not stray from his historical task, the dearth of contemporary situational relevance, or comparison even, may be a weakness of the book. However, the accounts are insightful. The chapter on Plato's myth from the <Symposium> concerning the dual-sexuality of original states is a strong one. Also a nice treat, Brisson presents discussion of the Chaldean Oracles and Orphic mysteries within the context of dual sexuality. The former topic in particular appears rarely in writing on general classical culture. Remarkable too, is the relation of early Roman and Etruscan reactions to these hermaphrodite prodigies. This clear little book serves up a handy collection and analysis of incidents, from which, perhaps, one can generalize not only about antiquity's perception of and reaction to sexual duals, but too the value of such dualism as a mythological or philosophical concept.