Sex or Symbol - Erotic Images of Greece and Rome

This entertaining and thoughtful book investigates an area of Greek and Roman life which was an embarrassment to the 18th- and 19th-century scholars discovering many objects in their classical collections. At a time of increasing prudery, such material was considered unsuitable for serious study and removed from public display. While overt sexual representations were common in painting, sculpture, pottery and jewelry, not all the objects which shocked the Victorians had an erotic purpose. Many had a religious function, as well as reflecting the classical delight in erotic art for its own sake. They also shed light on the social mores of the time, in particular the wide range of sexual behavior acceptable in classical antiquity...