Classics 361: Sex and Power in Greece and Rome

This course explores the positions of power that make sex bad and beautiful, dangerous and desirable, in ancient Greek and Roman literature from Sappho to St Paul, and from Alexander the Great to the Ancient Novel. Juxtaposing ancient and modern texts and contexts, including modern political theory, sociology, and movies, we ask whether sexuality, so definitive to us moderns, even existed in the ancient world and why discussions of sex always seem to be about something else.