Excellent4.8 out of 5On Trustpilot
  1. Christian Living/
  2. Sexuality

Porneia: On Desire and the Body in Antiquity

by Aline Rousselle

  • Paperback
  • Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
  • 15.3 x 22.7 x 1.6 cm

£20.62

Free UK Delivery

Available - Usually dispatched within 4 days

Buying for a school or church? Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account

Free delivery on orders over £10

Porneia means fornication, unchastity, desire for another's body. Drawing on Roman and Greek works of science, medicine, gynecology, and law and on Christian and pagan religious texts, Aline Rouselle discovers the intimate fears, passions, superstitions, and ambitions of the people of the Mediterranean world during the first four centuries AD. The first part of the book describes Roman notions of male and female sexuality; attitudes to fertility, inheritance, child care, and training; legal restraints on sexual behavior; concubinage and divorce; and the extraordinary rituals of orgy, castration and sacrifice associated with ancient rites of fertility and spirituality. Yet the sexual problems of antiquity will be seen in many respects to be almost exactly those of the contemporary West--from fear of impotence to the concern of parents about teenage misbehavior. The second part of the work is concerned with the impact of Christian ideas upon a settled pagan tradition. Abstinence, once associated with the enhancement of fertility, becomes the key to salvation. The first monastic regimes, and the means by which men and women curtailed and overcame their desire for one another, are described in detail. Centuries of concern with fertility became, in this revolutionary period, an obsession with chastity in this world and a secure place in the next. This is a tour de force of scholarship and historical anthropology. The author's argument may be controversial, but few can fail to be fascinated by the evidence she marshals to support it.
Porneia: On Desire and the Body in Antiquity and People to be Loved
People to be LovedPorneia: On Desire and the Body in Antiquity

  • Author

    Aline Rousselle

  • Book Format

    Paperback / softback

  • Publisher

    Wipf & Stock Publishers

  • Published

    January 2013

  • Weight

    309g

  • Dimensions

    15.3 x 22.7 x 1.6 cm

  • ISBN

    9781610975827

  • ISBN-10

    1610975820

  • Eden Code

    4941131

Over 14,000 churches and schools have upgraded to an Advance Account and we‘d love to welcome you into this free program. We know that church volunteers and school teachers often use their own money, then have claim it back on on an expense form. We can take all of that hassle away by invoicing your church or school directly and delivering your order straight away.

Opening an account is quick and easy, with most accounts being approved and setup within a few hours of filling in the form below (on weekdays, not weekends). As soon as we‘ve approved the application we‘ll send you an email to let you know that its done.

Upgrade to a FREE Eden Advance Account
Write a review
      Ask a question