I knew I had to have Greek and Roman Erotica the moment I saw it. Of course, it wasn’t the lure of the erotica in the art book, but the lure of the fine quotes which accompany the art. (I was going to say it was for the articles, but there aren’t any.)

Greek and Roman Erotica totally dissuaded any notion that I may have had before that a majority of erotic art comes from either Africa or Asia; it turns out that the Greeks had more than their fair share of phalluses in their art and sculptures as well. Much of the art contained within Greek and Roman Erotica is art found on objects such as pitchers, plates, and other household objects. 

I actually wasn’t joking about the quotes accompanying the erotic art in the images; since I tend to prefer the written word more than art, I really enjoyed many of the quotes found within Greek and Roman Erotica. Many of the quotes relate not only to Greek art and literature, but to Greek mythology as well. One example I came across was of Anton (from the Greek Anthology) defending his own propensity for picking up and sleeping with a large variety of women. 

If anyone blames me because I, a skilled servant of Aphrodite, go hunting, my eyes armed with bird lime, to catch girls, I have this to say to him: Zeus, Hades and the Lord of the Sea were all slaves of violent desire. If the gods are (and they tell us to follow their example), what wrong am I doing by imitating them?

Anton doesn’t mention, of course, any of the more disturbing stories about Zeus such as his dalliance with Leda. 

Not all of the text or the art features the Greek gods. Much of the art and text in Greek and Roman Erotica features unnamed men and women, with the art depicting various men and women in a variety of sexual positions, and usually featured on a vase or in a sculpture.The quotes in the latter portion of the book are arranged by subject. Some of the topics are: plump girls, virgins, older women; female orgies; homosexuality; and impotence. (The latter is surprising as a topic for quotes since most of the phalluses featured are not flaccid, especially in the stone work.)

Greek and Roman Art was published in 1982, but because the works are from the Classical period, much of what can be seen and read in the book is timeless. The quotes, of course, definitely show a change of preferences between the times; another interesting quote I found is from Nikarchos (from the Greek Antholology); his preferences in women seem different than what most men have today and reflects a slightly different stereo-type towards chubby women than any I’ve ever heard. 

A fine and largely built woman attracts me. Similus, whether she be in her prime or elderly. If she is young she will open her thighs. If old and wrinkled, her mouth.