Eva C. Keuls (1923–2014)

Keuls’ book uses ancient Greek vases as a source for understanding the sexual politics of ancient Athens. She argues that Athens were a “phallocracy” in which phallic symbols dominated the life of the polis. Her book is really interesting, because she talks about prostitution, concubines, pederasty, marriage, myth, tragedy, and other juicy subjects. I suspect she is right that the writing of social history of ancient Athens has ignored artistic sources, but then again, reading this book, I can understand why; artwork is too vague to often be of much help. Often I found myself wondering, how the heck did she get a particular conclusion from a particular vase? Still, she raises a lot of good questions and writes very provocatively, even if her conclusions often seem stretched.… (meer)