Sex and Sexuality in Classical Athens

Contents
List of Illustrations
Series Editors’ Preface
Preface
Timeline
Part I Debates
Chapter 1 Sexual Unions: Marriage and Domestic Life
Chapter 2 Same-Sex Relationships
Chapter 3 Prostitution
Chapter 4 Sex and the Law: Adultery and Rape
Chapter 5 Beauty, Sexual Attractiveness, Fantasy and Taboo
Part II Documents
Introduction
Aeschines
A Athenian laws protecting boys from sexual exploitation
B The law on hybris against a free child
C The law on male prostitution
D Timarchus’ sojourns at the homes of older men
E A shameful act goes unnamed
F Hegesandrus takes a shine to Timarchus
G Male prostitutes in cubicles
H The punishment of adulterers – among others
I Timarchus’ treatment of women
J Timarchus denounced as Hegesandrus’ ‘woman’
K Prostitution taxes
L Praise for the right kind of boy-love
M Homer’s portrayal of Achilles and Patroclus
N A comment on the laws on male prostitution
O Th e treatment of adulteresses in law and practice
P Appropriate behaviour for male prostitutes and their admirers
Aeschylus
A Helen the destroyer
B Achilles reproaches the dead Patroclus(?)
Alexis
A How brothel-keepers model prostitutes to the greatest effect
B Prostitution in the Kerameikos
Amphis
A The advantage of a hetaira over a wife
Anacreon
A Ode to a heedless boy
B A plea to enjoy a boy’s thighs
C The Thracian filly
Anaxilas
A Not a prostitute, but a courtesan
B The allusive nature of hetairai’s requests
Andocides
A Callias’ relationships with a mother and daughter
B Alcibiades’ wife is driven to attempt divorce
Antiphanes
A A citizen hetaira of good repute
Archilochus
A Each to his own
Aristophanes
AA A fantasy of a sexual assault on a slave-girl
AB The beginning of the Peloponnesian War attributed to whoreknapping
AC Praise of female breasts
AD A wife justifies her absence from the house
AE The appeal of youth over old age
AF A girl pines for her boyfriend
AG A fantasy encounter with a boy
AH A mortal threatens a goddess with rape
AI A matchmaker’s mismatch between a rustic and a city-girl
AJ The clouds change shape on seeing Cleisthenes
AK The modest behaviour of boys in the good old days
AL An ideal of male beauty
AM Avoiding punishment for adultery
AN The wide-arsed citizens of Athens
AO The attraction of flute-girls and dancing-girls
AP The distastefulness of cunnilingus
AQ A fantasy of sex with a boy with balls
AR The city gates as a location for prostitution
AS Adulterers and dildos
AT Lysistrata’s tantalising plans for ending the war
AU The eff ect of Helen’s breasts
AV The threat of forced sex in the marital home
AW The plight of unmarried women compared to that of men
AX A husband teased during the sex strike
AY The Peiraeus as a location for prostitution
AZ A fantasy of rough sex with a willing girl
BA The behaviour of adulterous women
BB A description of Agathon
BC Agathon’s fresh-faced appearance
BD Agathon insulted
BE A curse on those who betray women and their sexual misdemeanours
BF Old bridegrooms and young brides
BG The in-law’s speech about female misdemeanours
BH Cleisthenes’ femininity
BI Men’s fascination with the ‘curse’ that is the female sex
BJ The benefits of jury service: boys’ genitalia and heiresses
BK An old man asks a flute-girl for sexual favours
BL Objectifi cation of a flute-girl
BM Corinthian prostitutes and unscrupulous boys
BN A toy boy rejects an old woman now he is no longer poor
BO Insults about an old woman’s appearance
Aristophon
A The perils of marriage
Aristotle
A Pericles’ ‘citizenship’ law
B Laws governing the hire and pay of flute-girls
C The procedure for dealing with certain criminals
D Justifiable and unintentional homicide
E Financial profit and loss resulting from adultery
F The natural aff ection between husband and wife
G Permanent and fleeting same-sex relationships
H No word for marriage
I The governance of slaves, children and women in the home
J The appropriate ages for marriage and childbearing
K Men choose to keep quiet about hybris in the family
L The nature of hybris
Athenaeus
A Nannion’s nickname
B Sophocles steals a kiss from a slave-boy
Cratinus
A Lust among the ruins
Demosthenes
A Considerations when choosing a suitable groom
B Some examples of hybris in Athens
C Solon’s law on male prostitution
D The law on unintentional homicide
E Demosthenes’ father betroths his wife and daughter on his deathbed
F A man persuaded to marry at the age of eighteen
G Marital disagreements settled for the sake of the children
H The creation of five households from one
I Archiades chooses not to marry
J A law on the betrothal of women – including the heiress
K A man vilified for keeping a hetaira in preference to a legitimate wife
L A man married to his half-sister by the same father
M A man passes his wife on to a friend and marries an heiress
N Athenian laws prohibiting marriages between citizens and foreigners
O Nicarete buys and sells her prostitute ‘daughters’
P Neaera is jointly purchased by two of her lovers
Q Neaera’s brutal treatment at various parties
R Neaera confides in Stephanus and entrusts herself to him
S Prostitution and blackmail undertaken by ‘citizen’ Neaera
T Laws on divorce and passing off non-citizen women as Athenian
U Laws on adultery and an alleged blackmail plot
V The law concerning the adulteress and her husband
W Hetairai should not be allowed to encroach on citizen women
X Hetairai, concubines and wives
Y Advice to a beloved on good and shameful conduct
Dinarchus
A The harshness of Athenian juries
Diogenes Laertius
A A report of the ‘bigamy concession’ in Athens
Drinking songs
A A song in honour of Harmodius and Aristogeiton
B Another song in honour of Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Epicrates
A The decline of Laïs, an ageing courtesan
Eubulus
A The stealthiness of adultery compared to the openness of the brothel
B Scantily dressed prostitutes for hire in a brothel
C The make-up of an older woman runs on a hot day
Euripides
A The advantage of virtue over beauty for a wife
B A wife’s secure status compared to that of a concubine
C An apology for rape
D A warning to the adulterer who marries an adulteress
E Eye-contact between men and women
F The wisdom of turning a blind eye to sexual misdemeanours
G Theseus’ condemnation of Hippolytus to death
H Punishing the son who has abused his father’s marriage-bed
I Preparations for a wedding
J The trials of marriage for a woman
K The modest behaviour of a dutiful wife
Greek Anthology
A The unattractiveness of a woman now she is old
B The appropriate age for a beloved boy
Herodotus
A Mycerinus rapes his own daughter
B Cleisthenes betroths his daughter to Megacles
Hesiod
A A warning about deceitful women
B Advice to men on choosing a wife
Homer
A Wedding celebrations in a city as depicted on Achilles’ shield
Hyperides
A A former courtesan arranges the sale of a beloved slave and hisfamily
B Appropriate adornment for a woman inside and outside the house
Ibycus
A The effects of Eros on a seasoned campaigner
Inscription
A A husband commemorates his wife
Isaeus
A Male relatives’ obligations towards unmarried women
B Two brothers find husbands for two sisters
C A man finds a new husband for his childless wife
D An ageing man takes action in regard to his childlessness
E Menecles’ adoptive son and his wife care for him in old age
F Inappropriate behaviour for a wife
G Concubinage with benefi ts
H The law of the heiress depriving men of their wives
I A family’s likely reaction to a woman becoming an heiress
J Euctemon chooses a concubine over his family
K Public and private interest in preserving family households
L Multiple marriages and the loss of a dowry
M Limits on financial transactions carried out by women and children
N A husband is loath to part with his heiress wife
O Xenaenetus is accused of buggering away his inheritance
P A view on the inheritance entitlement of an heiress and her sons
Lysias
A The speaker outlines his reasons for killing an alleged adulterer
B The early stages of a marriage
C The circumstances surrounding the beginning of the aff air
D Advances towards a slave-girl
E The aff air is discovered
F The adulterer is captured and killed
G An account of the laws on rape and adultery
H Aff ection for a boy and intrusion on a household’s womenfolk
I The price of a boy
J The penalty for adultery
Machon
A A hetaira quips that her prices are flexible
Menander
A A stepbrother’s reaction to a young man’s interest in hisstepsister
B Eros contributes to a stable marriage
C A betrothal
D A soldier laments his rejection by a concubine
E Pay for a pimp
F Evidence of a rape during the Tauropolia
G An unclaimed foundling and a description of a rape
H A husband’s remorse at his double standards concerning rape
I A woman learns that her husband is her rapist
J Diffi culties caused by marrying a rich heiress
K One brother tells another that he is too old to marry a young girl
L A young man relates how he got a girl pregnant
M A man’s dismissal of his courtesan-concubine
Metagenes
A An array of prostitutes
Pausanias
A The rape of two girls near Leuctra
B Th e raid by the Gauls on the Callians in 279 bc results in mass rape
Philemon
A Democratic brothels off ering men easy sex
Pindar
A The compelling nature of boys’ beauty
Plato
A The beauty of Charmides stuns his admirers
B The effects of Charmides’ beauty on Socrates
C Adultery for cash
D The life of the kinaidoi
E The prescribed age for marriage in an ideal state
F Male same-sex relationships fail to promote virtue
H Lysias’ rhetorical speech: reasons to gratify a friend over a lover
I Stages of courtship between a lover and his beloved
J Sophocles’ view of sex in old age
K Phaedrus’ speech: the power of Eros and the army of lovers
L Phaedrus’ speech: Achilles and Patroclus
M Pausanias’ speech: Common and Heavenly Aphrodite
N Aristophanes’ speech: love is the pursuit of our other half
Plato Comicus
A Payments for diff erent sexual positions
Plutarch
A Hipparete’s dowry and her attempt at divorcing Alcibiades
B Pericles’ love life and Aspasia’s infamy
C Pericles’ ‘citizenship’ law
D Solon’s laws concerning the heiress
E Solon’s laws on rape and adultery
F Wedding feasts
Sappho
A The physical effects of watching a loved one converse with a man
B A tender farewell between two women and recollection of sweeter times
Semonides
A The qualities of the good ‘bee’ wife
Solon
A The longed-for attractions of a boy
Sophocles
A Antigone’s address to her tomb
B Antigone’s lament before death
C Dreams of incest
D The blind Oedipus laments his fate
E The sweetness of a girl’s childhood compared to marriage
Theognis
A The fickleness of boys and horses
B A plea to a boy for mercy
C Praise of a smooth-cheeked boy
D The hard yoke of pederasty
Theopompus
A Sex between youthful age-mates
Timocles
A The advantages of innocence over experience in a girl
Xenarchus
A Adultery compared unfavourably to the delights of a brothel
Xenophon
A Adulterers as destroyers of marital affection
B The perils of adultery
C Heracles’ vision of Virtue and Vice
D Marital sex and parents’ commitment to their off spring
E The qualities of a good matchmaker
F A courtesan’s household and her means of income
G Socrates rebukes a young man in poor physical shape
H Communication between husband and wife
I The upbringing of Ischomachus’ young wife
J A bolted door and sexual relations between slaves
K A husband praises natural looks over make-up
L A wife compared to a slave-girl
M Socrates praises the smell of olive oil in the gymnasium
N Socrates claims that boys take no pleasure in sex
Illustrations
Further Reading
Glossary
Bibliography
Index