Law, Sexuality, and Society: The Enforcement of Morals in Classical Athens

by David Cohen

• ISBN13: 9780521466424
• ISBN10: 0521466423
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-02-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Centering on the examination of the social and legal context of adultery, homosexuality, impiety, and the public-private dichotomy in Athenian society, this book attempts to examine the problems of social control and the regulation of sexuality in a way that will be of interest to a broad readership. It uses a comparative approach to show how the examination of such issues can deepen our understanding of classical Athens, particularly in regard to the role of law in society. Further, it argues that this historical investigation can, in turn, enrich our general appreciation of the relation of social and legal norms, and the roles they play in regulating complex social practices such as those associated with sexuality, morals, and the family. This illuminating book develops a view of classical Athenian society that emphasizes the study of social control as the dynamic interplay of legal and social norms within the context of ideology and practice.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(13)
Models and methods I	14	(21)
Models and methods II	35	(35)
Public and private in classical Athens	70	(28)
The law of adultery	98	(35)
Adultery, women, and social control	133	(38)
Law, social control, and homosexuality in classical Athens	171	(32)
The prosecution of impiety in Athenian law	203	(15)
The enforcement of morals	218	(23)
Bibliography	241	(16)
Index	257