This work argues that Rome is relevant to the Romantic period not as the continuation of an earlier neoclassicism, but rather as a concept that is simultaneously transformed and transformative: transformed in the sense that new models of historical thinking produced a changed understandings of historicity itself.

Platonic love is a concept that has profoundly shaped Western literature, philosophy and intellectual history for centuries. First developed in the Symposium and the Phaedrus, it was taken up by subsequent thinkers in antiquity, entered the theological debates of the Middle Ages, and played a key role in the reception of Neoplatonism and the etiquette of romantic relationships during the Italian Renaissance. In this wide-ranging reference work, a leading team of international specialists examines the Platonic distinction between higher and lower forms of eros, the role of the higher form in the ascent of the soul and the concept of Beauty. They also treat the possibilities for friendship and interpersonal love in a Platonic framework, as well as the relationship between love, rhetoric and wisdom. Subsequent developments are explored in Plutarch, Plotinus, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Eriugena, Aquinas, Ficino, della Mirandola, Castiglione and the contra amorem tradition.

This ambitious book addresses questions concerning an old theme - the rise and fall of ancient civilization - but does so from a distinctive theoretical perspective by taking its lead from the work of the great German sociologist Max Weber.

New and surprising insights into homoeroticism of times past In ancient times, the Greek god Eros personified both heterosexual and homosexual attractions. Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in Classical Tradition of the West explores the homosexual side of the vanished civilizations of Greece and Rome, and the resulting influence on the Classical tradition of the West. Respected scholars clearly present evidence that shows the extensive nature of homoeroticism and homosexuality in the Classical world. Iconography such as vase decoration and carved gemstones is presented in photographs, and the text includes an examination of a wide selection of literature of the times with an eye to opening new vistas for future study. Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in Classical Tradition of the West lays to rest the myths generally accepted as truth about Greco-Roman views on homosexuality and brings fresh insights to philological and historical scholarship. This book provides nuanced, humanistic discussions on the common phenomena of same-sex desire. Topics include Greek pederasty and its origins, the Greek female homoeroticism of Sappho, homosexuality in Greek and Roman art and literature, and the emergence of the gay liberation movement with the influence of discussions of Greek and Roman homosexuality in the twentieth century. The text is extensively referenced and includes helpful notation. Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in Classical Tradition of the West provides a comprehensive table of abbreviations, subject index, and index of names and terms. It discusses in detail: the integral role athletic nudity played in athlete-trainer pederasty the central role of pederasty in Greek history, politics, art, literature, and learning tracing the history of the Ganymede myth how the athletic culture of Sparta contributed to the spread of pederasty in Greece homosexuality in Boeotia in contrast to the rest of Greece the homoeroticism of Sappho dispelling generally accepted myths prevalent about Roman sexuality Roman visual representations of homosexuality as evidence of prevailing attitudes homoerotic connotations in literature and philosophy of the Italian Renaissance the effect of German classical philology on gay scholarship English Romantic poets and the importance of male love in their lives the Uranians’ use of allusions and themes from ancient Greece the building of intellectual community through gay print culture—through the use of Greece and Rome as models and more Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in Classical Tradition of the West is essential reading for Classicists, specialists in gender/sexuality studies, humanists interested in the classical tradition in Western culture, psychologists, and other social scientists in human sexuality.

The ancient Greeks commonly resorted to magic spells to attract and keep lovers. Surveying and analyzing various texts and artifacts, the author reveals that gender is the crucial factor in understanding love spells.

Musical Receptions of Greek Antiquity: From the Romantic Era to Modernism is a rich contribution to a topic of increasing scholarly interest, namely, the impact of Greek antiquity on modern culture, with a particular focus on music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This collection of essays offers a more comprehensive interdisciplinary examination of music’s interaction with Greek antiquity since the nineteenth century than has been attempted so far, analysing its connotations and repercussions. The volume sheds light on a number of hitherto underexplored case studies, and revisits and reassesses some well-known instances. Through scrutiny of a wide range of cases that extend from the Romantic era to experimentations of the second half of the twentieth century, the collection illuminates how the engagement with and interpretation of elements of ancient Greek culture in and through music reflect the specific historical, cultural and social contexts in which they took place. In analysing the multiple ways in which Greek antiquity inspired Western art music since the nineteenth century, the volume takes advantage of current interdisciplinary developments in musicology, as well as research on reception across various fields, including musicology, Slavic studies, modern Greek studies, Classics, and film studies. By encompassing a wide variety of case studies on repertories at the margins of the Western European art music tradition, while not excluding some central European ones, this volume broadens the focus of an increasingly rich field of research in significant ways.

The first closely historicized study of the relationship between Gothic architecture and Gothic and Romantic literature.

This brilliant critique of the literature on modernity challenges conventional approaches in two fundamental ways: First, the lineage of the modern turns out to be less ancient and glorious than is usually suggested. Modernity is an upstart rather than a scion of an old and celebrated line. The roots of modernity are held to be less secure than previously thought. This leads the author to suggest that the demise of the old is a matter of rhetoric rather than reality. The old was driven underground rather than extinguished. The inherited traditions are deeply embedded in our souls. We turn to modernity as a half-baked worldview to overcome our estrangement from the past.Kinneging examines this sweeping view in the concrete circumstances of the imagined fall of the aristocracy and rise of the enterprising bourgeoisie. But aristocracy, this study reveals a strong and thriving noblesse, not only in places like Russia and Prussia, but also in advanced capitalist states like France and England. Aristocracy, Antiquity, and History shows conclusively that the actual demise of this exploration into the sources of Western thought takes seriously the strength of an aristocratic vision that lives on in a variety of conservative and liberal doctrines.In Aristocracy, Antiquity and History the readers is reacquainted with the democratic potential as in the work of Montesquieu, and the way in which classicism, romanticism, and modernism, far from a sequential set of events, are entwined in the ethic of honor and in the moral order of modern life. In trying to understand modernity, advanced societies cannot help but draw attention to the old by way of contrast. The presence of antiquity, however suppressed or shrugged off, does not disappear, but stays with us in the very act of rebellion against the ancients. This fine work in the history of ideas will serve to redefine and redirect researches in social and political theory for years to come.

Heringman focuses on the illustrators, fieldworkers, and ghostwriters associated with the production of scholarly plate books during the Romantic-era. The volume explores how the expertise acquired by these intellectuals precipitated a major shift in research and forged a broader perception of antiquity, transforming intellectual life.

A vivid exploration of the many ways the classical world remains relevant today, this is a passionate justification of why we continue to read about and study the lives and works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Challenging the way the phrase 'That's just ancient history' is used to dismiss something as being irrelevant, Greg and Alicia Aldrete demonstrate just how much ancient Greece and Rome have influenced and shaped our world today in ways both large and small. From the more commonly known influences on politics, law, literature and timekeeping through to the everyday rituals and routines we take for granted when we exercise, dine, marry and dress, we are rooted in the ancient world. Even the political upheaval, celebrity obsession and blurring of public and private boundaries that we see in current news betray ancient characteristics - now brought to the fore here in a new final chapter. If you have ever wondered how far exactly we still walk in the footsteps of the ancients or wanted to understand how study of the classical world can inform and explain our lives today, this is the book for you.