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The Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens Paperback – April 27, 1993
| Eva C. Keuls (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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The phallus was pictured everywhere in ancient Athens: painted on vases, sculpted in marble, held aloft in gigantic form in public processions, and shown in stage comedies. This obsession with the phallus dominated almost every aspect of public life, influencing law, myth, and customs, affecting family life, the status of women, even foreign policy.
This is the first book to draw together all the elements that made up the "reign of the phallus"―men's blatant claim to general dominance, the myths of rape and conquest of women, and the reduction of sex to a game of dominance and submission, both of women by men and of men by men.
In her elegant and lucid text Eva Keuls not only examines the ideology and practices that underlay the reign of the phallus, but also uncovers an intense counter-movement―the earliest expressions of feminism and antimilitarism.
Complementing the text are 345 reproductions of Athenian vase paintings. Some have been reproduced in a larger format and gathered in an appendix for easy reference and closer study. These revealing illustrations are a vivid demonstration that classical Athens was more sexually polarized and repressive of women than any other culture in Western history.
- Print length477 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherUniversity of California Press
- Publication dateApril 27, 1993
- Dimensions6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-109780520079298
- ISBN-13978-0520079298
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- ASIN : 0520079299
- Publisher : University of California Press; First edition (April 27, 1993)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 477 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780520079298
- ISBN-13 : 978-0520079298
- Item Weight : 2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,666,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,856 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
- #2,798 in Psychology & Counseling Books on Sexuality
- #10,059 in Art History (Books)
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As a fan of non-fiction, and also an aspiring author (am currently working with an editor with my first manuscript), I originally picked up Ms. Keuls comprehensive work for my own research into art history. I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Keuls no-holds-barred honesty.
Few scholarly works have ever stimulated my...mind, the way hers has. There were times that I actually had a sweaty forehead and palms, greedily looking forward to what she might expose in each respective chapter.
Although I may not have agreed with all of Ms. Keuls' conclusions---particularly the extent of the beastliness of men, or the lopsided portrayal of the treatment of women of that era---her painstaking research has me wondering whether some of her critics have really read her book to...completion.
Thanks again Ms. Keuls. Regardless of your motives, I am honored by the countless hours you toiled in order to bring readers and researchers such a fabulous work of art.
I highly recommend you do read the book, given that the spurious subject of Matriarchal ages is now being insinuated into school curriculum by liberals, radical feminists, and well-meaning but misinformed teachers.
By all means teach the important role women played in cultures of the past, and by all means detail their suffering at the hands of some men. However, keep things in proportion, and don't teach politically correct fallacies.
I also recommend Steven Goldberg's "The Inevitability of Patriarchy."


