Greek Homosexuality

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and informative.
Review: An excellent, extremely thorough study of homosexuality in Ancient Greece. Dover distinguishes between actual gays, gigolos, and heterosexuals who behave as if they are gay. The author provides mounds of thoroughly critiqued evidence to support every point, as well as candidly admitting to errors in past editions of the book--and correcting them. Yes, it's a history book, but it's also incredibly fascinating. The style is very readable, and the text is approachable by the layman as well as by the scholar. I couldn't put it down. Excellent work!

Rating:
Summary: Well researched
Review: Dover explores both the role of homosexuality in society as well as personal lives. His research is well laid out and provided an informed view of this subject. While the writing tends to be slightly more academic than I would like, I do not think this could be helped considering the subject matter and the (sometimes) positive views expressed by the author.

Rating:
Summary: The social uses of homosexual pursuit
Review: What I found particularly informative was Dover's fascinating theory on the social use of Homosexual pursuit among the citizen class. Particularly the information that hubris was a crime in democratic Athens. What has this to do with homosexuality, you ask? the first half of the book explains. Ancient greek homosexuality in no way resembles the modern version and it is mind-blowing to see how they differ and how analogous structures, in two different societies, may seem to be opposites. For instance, in speaking of homosexual pursuit Dover is constantly forced, when comparing Ancient Athenian society to modern, to use heterosexual pursuit as an analogy for homosexual pursuit. The resemblances between modern heterosexuality and ancient homosexuality are just that strong!