CCIV 117: Eros the Bittersweet: Love and Desire in Classical Antiquity Prof. Eirene Visvardi M & W 1:10-2:30
Eros, the god of love and desire in antiquity, was powerful, revered, and feared. The course explores the different faces of eros expressed in male and female desire in a variety of contexts. We will address questions of gender roles and sexuality in antiquity; how these are acted out in different social and religious institutions, including the symposium, female rituals, and marriage; and how the power and pleasure of eros are transformed in different poetic traditions and artistic representations from Homer to the poetry of drinking parties, tragedy, comedy, and philosophy, among others.