Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

The Greeks and Greek Love

A Bold New Exploration of the Ancient World

by James Davidson

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • May 2009, 848 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

The first comprehensive look at homosexuality in ancient Greece since the advent of the gay rights movement, The Greeks and Greek Love upends commonly held misconceptions about same-sex love in the Classical period. With a lively voice, a bawdy sense of humor, and a gift for narrative, James Davidson brings to life the men of Greece and conducts a nuanced investigation of their relationships—both romantic and platonic—in the gymnasiums, on the battlefield, and at symposiums. He describes how homosexuality influenced politics, religion, culture, the law, and nearly every civic institution throughout ancient Greece, raising fundamental questions about the power of culture and human sexuality.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"A highly erudite work of social and cultural history." - The Guardian (London).

"[A] massive work of research, reflection and surprise." - Daily Telegraph (London).

"Massively informed and informative ... [a] vital and outstanding study." - The Spectator (London).

"A landmark in gay studies ... James Davidson's revisionist account emerges with winning charm." - Time Out London.

"Starred Review. Davidson's study is brilliant social history and a first-rate history of classical Greece." - Publishers Weekly.

"The nonspecialist may be overwhelmed by the level of detail here, but the author is an engaging, often humorous writer, which should give the book a broader appeal." - Library Journal

This information about The Greeks and Greek Love was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

James Davidson

James Davidson is a classical scholar and history professor at the University of Warwick in England. He is the author of Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens and is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books, among other journals. He lives in London.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more history, current affairs and religion...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Our Evenings
    Our Evenings
    by Alan Hollinghurst
    Alan Hollinghurst's novel Our Evenings is the fictional autobiography of Dave Win, a British ...
  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

More Anagrams

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.