RLS020 Love and Sex in the ancient Greece

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jana Steklá, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jana Steklá, Ph.D.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! KR020 Love in the ancient Greece
Předmět tematicky navazuje na KR018 Láska, ženy a soukromý život v antickém Řecku, ve kterém se probíralo postavení ženy a vývoj manželství. Jeho absolvování ale není podmínkou pro zapsání KR020. Předpokládá se základní orientace v historii a mytologii starověkého Řecka a v literatuře klasického období.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The course presents a diachronic interpretation of the functioning of society in ancient Greece, especially from the point of view of gender social differentiation, and presents the view of the ancient Greeks about sexuality and its manifestation in various forms. The aim of the course is to introduce and explain sexual relations especially outside marriage and their adjustments, both legal and moral. It also shows how Greek society has defined private and public, enforced observance of unwritten moral principles and what aspects played an important role in the evaluation of sexual relations.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will:
- have an overview of the general rules of operation of the society;
- understand the causes and consequences of social phenomena;
- understand how the ancient man perceived his sexuality;
- have a basic overview of private law in classical Athens;
- know the views of Greek philosophers on selected issues;
- know what medical knowledge the ancient Greeks had.
Syllabus
  • 1. Conjugal love and sexual life in marriage
  • 2. Sexual relations of married people outside of marriage, adultery. The case of Euphiletus.
  • 3. Incest.
  • 4. Rape, sexually motivated crimes.
  • 5. Prostitution.
  • 6. Homosexual relationships.
  • 7. Pederasty.
  • 8. Moderation in sexual life.
  • 9. Biological aspects of reproduction
  • 10. Love magic
  • 11. Depiction of the naked female body, pornography.
Literature
    required literature
  • Cohen, David. Law, Sexuality and Society. Cambridge, 1991
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Dějiny sexuality. II, Užívání slastí : L'usage des plaisirs : historie de la sexualité. II (Orig.) : Užívání slastí : dějiny sexuality. II (Variant.). [v Praze]: Herrmann & synové, 2003, 338 s. info
  • CANTARELLA, Eva. Bisexuality in the ancient world. Translated by Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin. Second edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, xx, 286. ISBN 0300093020. info
    recommended literature
  • POMEROY, Sarah B. Ancient Greece : a political, social, and cultural history. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, xxv, 561. ISBN 9780199846047. info
  • HIPPOKRATÉS. Vybrané spisy. Edited by Sylva Fischerová, Translated by Hynek Bartoš. První vydání. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2012, 604 stran. ISBN 9788072983926. info
  • Prostitutes and courtesans in the ancient world. Edited by Christopher A. Faraone - Laura McClure. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006, x, 360 p. ISBN 0299213145. info
  • The Cambridge companion to ancient Greek law. Edited by Michael Gagarin - David Cohen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, xiii, 480. ISBN 0521521599. info
  • MCCLURE, Laura. Courtesans at table : gender and Greek literary culture in Athenaeus. New York: Routledge, 2003, xii, 242. ISBN 0415939461. info
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Dějiny sexuality. III, Péče o sebe : Péče o sebe : dějiny sexuality. III (Variant.) : Le souci de soi : historie de la sexualité. III (Orig.). [v Praze]: Herrmann & synové, 2003, 326 s. info
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Dějiny sexuality. I, Vůle k vědění : La volonté de savoir : historie de la sexualité. I (Orig.) : Vůle k vědění : dějiny sexuality. I (Variant.). [v Praze]: Herrmann & synové, 1999, 189 s. info
  • Frauenmedizin in der Antike : griechisch-lateinisch-deutsch. Edited by Charlotte Schubert - Ulrich Huttner. Düsseldorf: Artemis & Winkler Verlag, 1999, 575 s. ISBN 3760817114. info
  • KEULS, Eva C. The reign of the phallus : sexual politics in ancient Athens. 1st University of California. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993, viii, 477. ISBN 0520079299. info
  • DOVER, K. J. Greek homosexuality. New York: MJF Books, 1989, x, 246. ISBN 1567312217. info
  • POMEROY, Sarah B. Goddesses, whores, wives, and slaves : women in classical antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1975, xiii, 265. ISBN 0805205306. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, discussions.
Assessment methods
Submitting a brief essay or written test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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