Sex in Ancient Greece

As a student of philosophy, I believe that the Ancient Greeks laid the foundation for the way most of the world thinks today. Their philosophers examined a  vast array of thoughts pertaining to the universals of life including the birds and the bees. 

The erotic dilemma in Ancient Greece reflected the paradoxical nature of érōs. How could affection and love, or érōs, be capable of producing pleasure and kindness while also producing violent obsession and disruptions to the rational mind?

What did ancient Greek philosophers say about this? Some highlighted the importance of loving the person's soul as opposed to their body. Others, like the stoics, saw sexual aspirations as positive in so far as the state of character of the lover was in accordance to their ideal virtue. The two most impactful thinkers and surviving household names, Plato and Aristotle offered a range of insights on the subject. Check out their top ten contributions below.

Source: Click here to buy Ronnie De Sousa's work "Love: A Short Introduction" - our most contemporary work on the erotic dilemma!

Ronnie is a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. 

Works Cited:

Nussbaum, Martha Craven, and Juha Sihvola. The Sleep of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2002. Print.

Sousa, Ronald De. Love: A Very Short Introduction. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Sandford, Stella. Plato and Sex. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010. Print.

Post By: Hootan Ghaffari 

Hootan is a 20 year old philosophy/literature student at the University of Toronto. He has an eye for the creative arts.