Aphrodisia : Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World by Jean Menzies

Aphrodisia : Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World by Jean Menzies'Offers fascinating insights into women's worlds and desires in Greco Roman antiquity and beyond.'Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica 'A wonderfully witty and insightful look at attitudes towards female sexual pleasure in Ancient Greece and Rome Truly fabulous.'Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy 'An eye opening and joyful read.'Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne Was Ovid

'Offers fascinating insights into women's worlds and desires in Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond.'Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica

'A wonderfully witty and insightful look at attitudes towards female sexual pleasure in Ancient Greece and Rome... Truly fabulous.'Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy

'An eye-opening and joyful read.'Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne

Was Ovid a surprising champion of women's sexual pleasure? Or did he just want them to fake it? Where did the British Museum curators hide the most pornographic of frescoes? And what exactly was the phallic wooden object excavated in 90's Northumberland? In APHRODISIA, Dr Jean Menzies dives into the hidden history of women's sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. The classical world stretched across the Mediterranean for more than a millennium, its people and cultures wide and varied and its sexual proclivities equally so.

Yet so often when we read about sex in antiquity it is about the men folk first and foremost: which brothels they were visiting, how they balanced wives and lovers, and what they got up to in the gymnasium. Delving into the literature, art and artefacts of the ancient world, from sex toys to seduction tips to kink, Dr Jean Menzies instead centres women and their desire. In doing so, she uncovers the many faces of women's sexuality over the course of thousands of years, and asks intriguing, and sometimes provocative questions about women, sex and desire today.

'Finally! An up close and personal look at ancient women's sex lives that doesn't treat them simply as a source of scurrilous gossip, but rather as a subject worthy of care and respect.'Dr Jane Draycott, author of Fulvia and Cleopatra's Daughter

'Aphrodisia is a magnanimous triumph for the study of women in antiquity; Jean's ability to communicate this information in a witty and down-to-earth way makes this a necessary read for all people interested in sexuality and desire.'Erica Stevenson, author of The Odyssey Effect

Format:Hardback 240 pages
Publisher:Octopus Publishing Group
Imprint:Monoray
ISBN:9781800963207
Published:7 May 2026
Classifications:Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Ancient religions & mythologies, Social issues & processes, Gender studies: women, Sexual behaviour
Weight:428g
Dimensions:162 x 244 x 25 (mm)