Aphrodisia

Name: Aphrodisia
Price: 49.99 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781800963207

Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World

Jean Menzies

$49.99

Hardback

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English

Monoray
07 May 2026

Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Ancient religions & mythologies; Social issues & processes; Gender studies: women; Sexual behaviour

'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
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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.
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'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

By: Jean Menzies
Imprint: Monoray
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 429g
ISBN: 9781800963207
ISBN 10: 1800963203
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 07 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dr Jean Menzies is an author and presenter. In 2020 she won the BAMB Breakthrough Author award for her first book, Greek Myths: Meet the heroes, gods, and monsters of ancient Greece and she is also the author of adult fantasy novel, The Flames of Albiyon, published in 2021. She has a PhD in ancient history with a specialism in the history of women in Classical Greece. She also produces the podcast That's Ancient History.

Reviews for Aphrodisia: Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World

'Was sex always the same? Have women always expressed their desire in the same way? In Aphrodisia, Jean Menzies suggests that if history shows anything, it's that there is no one rule to women's desire, except that every woman deserves it. Written with a light touch yet traversing the histories, art and literature of Greece and Rome and unpacking the legacies (and lies) in the history of sex they left behind, Menzies' book offers fascinating insights into women's worlds and desires in Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond.' -Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica 'Aphrodisia by Jean Menzies is 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