Description
Book SynopsisThrough detailed analysis of a selection of material (poetry, prose and statues), this book explores how imperial power, and the authority and accessibility of the Roman emperor, were constructed and contested through the representation of sexual relations.
Trade ReviewReview of the hardback: '… her lively account shows how residents of the empire gained a sense of collective identity … by sharing jokes, gossip and fantasy about the emperor's sex life.' The Times Literary Supplement
Review of the hardback: '… Caroline Vout represents the latest iteration of 1980s-style gender studies which started in classical scholarship with Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality. Reading eclectically across imperial historiography, epigram, satire and sculpture, Vout seeks to explain the role played by the erotic imagination in the maintenance of imperial rule.' The Times Literary Supplement
Review of the hardback: 'This exemplary work not only transcends the 'chronicles of Roman debauchery' so characteristic of coffee table books and semi-popular works, but paints an enlightened and subtle picture of Roman society at so many different levels of perception and interaction.' Dr Mark Merrony, Minerva
Review of the hardback: '… Vout is to be congratulated on making a very readable, accessible and enjoyable book.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review
'… represent[s] an increasingly popular alternative emphasis in the study of ancient art. … sure to do much to shift the parameters of Roman 'art history' even further and to enrich its discussion.' Art History
Table of Contents1. The erotics of imperium; 2. Romancing the stone: the story of Hadrian and Antinous; 3. Compromising traditions: the case of Nero and Sporus; 4. A match made in heaven: Earinus and the emperor; 5. Mistress as metaphor: a dialogue with Panthea; 6. And so to bed...
