Daniel H. Garrison

A straightforward academic summary of what we know about sexuality in Ancient Greece from literature, art and archaeology. As anybody who has ever looked at Greek vases in a museum can easily guess, this is a lot more than we know about sexuality in many other ancient cultures, but when you drill down into it there are still a lot of blind spots. Statues and painted pottery are luxury products made for a limited elite; literary references are often satirical, or reflect the ideals of show more exclusive or counter-cultural sects, so we don’t really know all that much about the sexual habits of (say) working-class Athenians, or married women.

Garrison helps us to get a grasp of what we do know and put it in context, with introductory chapters about Jewish and other middle-eastern cultures and a closing chapter about Hellenistic Christianity, and he takes us through the evolution of Greek depictions of sexuality from Archaic to Hellenistic times. Unlike most other books I’ve read on this subject, he isn’t particularly interested in the way later cultures have responded to (their notions of) what the Greeks got up to in their naughtier moments (or didn’t!), and there’s no overt agenda of criticising the way we see sexuality in our own times. Which probably makes it a more useful book if you’re trying to make sense of Greek literature yourself, but leaves it a little dry for the reader if your interest is more sociological than classical. There are plenty of naughty pictures to look at, though… show less

A nice learner's edition. I got this for my 4th semester of Latin, but have used it both through my Classics undergrad and after. Garrison does a nice job balancing translation help with commentary and notes. Unlike other editions of Catullus I have used, you do not need to have a strong base knowledge. He'll give it to you. On the other hand, if you're an advanced student, he can give you some fun thoughts on the text, and spare you toting a dictionary if you're reading for fun.

One of those mind opening experiences for college Latin students. I just don't think you can get the same experience reading this on your own as you can as a Freshman or Sophomore in college reading this in Intermediate Latin. I think this was the first really risque thing I ever read for a class, and I was always totally terrified I was going to have to translate something embarrassing in front of the class.

A complete list of every character in the Wodehouse stories. Indispensable for those of us who were issued a forgettery instead of a memory.