SEX: ANTIQUITY AND ITS LEGACY

Book ID/图书代码： 06545014B67296

English Summary/英文概要： Sex is always paradoxical. On the one hand, it is one of the most natural activities in which human beings engage. Without sex, we wouldn’t be here. We simply cannot live without it. On the other hand, sexuality has given rise to some of the most complex and taboo issues in the history of civilization. What counts as sex? Are same-sex relationships ’natural’ or constructed? Why is sodomy considered a crime in one era and merely as a perversion or as titillating in the next? And what of pederasty? Why did the ancient Greeks socially and culturally sanction sexual activities that now seem to us to be abhorrent? Such critical questions lie at the heart of Daniel Orrells’ bold and imaginative treatment of of ancient sexuality and its later reception. If the modern world is steeped in classical culture, says Orrells, it seems contrary to admire the intellectual and artistic heritage of ancient Greece while ignoring what now seem to us deeply problematic sexual practices. This divertingly readable book explores the contested relationships between ancient and modern ideas about sex and the erotic, encompassing homosexuality, paedophilia, auto-eroticism, cybersex and bestiality.

Ranging from Sappho to Foucault, the author shows why the very definition of what sex is has changed radically between ancient and modern times.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 性总是充满着矛盾。一方面,这是一种人类参与其中的一项自然活动。没有性,我们就不会在这里。我们的生活中不可能没有它。另一方面,性引发了一些最复杂的和人类历史文明中国最为禁忌问题。性是什么?同性关系是“自然”的还是应该被筛选掉?为什么在一个时代鸡奸被认为是犯罪,而被仅仅作为一种曲解或是让人浮想联翩?鸡奸呢?为什么古希腊人在社会和文化上的制裁性活动,而在现今我们看来是不合常理的?诸如这些关键问题的重点都在作者Daniel Orrells的这部大胆而富有想象力的古人对于性的处理，以及后人对于性的逐渐开化接收。如果现代世界沉浸于古典文化中,Orrells写道,当我们还在对这一问题忽略之时，好像确实要对古希腊人的深邃智慧和艺术遗产而油然钦佩。这本有趣读物探讨了古代和现代人对于性和色情,包括同性恋,恋童癖,汽车色情,网络性爱和人兽性交这些富有争议性问题之间的关系。
从（古代希腊的女诗人）莎孚到福柯(Foucault)，作者向我们阐述了为何性的定义会在古代和现在之间发生根本性的逆转。 (Sandy)

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍： Daniel Orrells是华威大学古典文学与古代史的讲师，他是《古典文化和现代男子气概》一书的作者。

Daniel Orrells is Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Classical Culture and Modern Masculinity (Oxford University Press, 2011).

Format:HARDCOVER

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

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