Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature

by Dr Gwendolyn Leick

Overview

Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature is a new contribution to current debates about sex and eroticism. It gives an insight into Mesopotamian attitudes to sexuality by examining the oldest preserved written evidence on the subject - the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources - which were written between the 21st and the 5th centuries B.C. Using these long-neglected and often astonishing data, Gwendolyn Leick is able to anlayse Mesopotamian views of prostitution, love magic and deviant sexual behaviour as well as more general issues of sexuality and gender.
This fascinating book sheds light on the sexual culture of one of the earliest literate civilisations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415065344
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/13/1994
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dr Gwendolyn Leick

Table of Contents

List of illustrations Acknowledgements Preface Notes for Non-Assyriologist readers Abbreviations Chronological Chart Map Introduction Part I: The Sumero-Akkadian tradition of the third and early second millennium, The cosmological articulation of sexuality 1. Masculine sexuality in Sumerian Literature 2. Femininity and Eroticism in Sumerian Literature Part II: Sources from the later second and first millennium Glossary Illustrations Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

'In this excellent study, Gwendolyn Leick presents an extensive body of Sumerian an dAkkadian cuneiform poems, magic spells, myths and stories bearing on a wide range of sexual themes.' – Antiquity

From the Publisher