A collection of essays examines the themes of love and sex in literature, from Plato to modern fiction.

A librarian, pornographer and fervent Catholic who came to regard the brothels of Paris as his true 'churches', George Bataille ranks among the boldest and most disturbing of twentieth-century thinkers. Although published at the start of the 'sexual revolution', Eroticism (1857) totally rejects the gospel of 'liberation'. Everywhere, it argues, sex is surrounded by taboos, and everywhere we transgress against them in our desperation to overcome an agonizing sense of separation from other people. In developing this central theme, Bataille offers a dazzling array of insights into incest, prostitution, marriage, murder, sadism, sacrifice and the violence at the heart of religious ritual. The result is one of the strangest and most compelling books ever written about sex.

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.

This major collection explores the contested nature of love and eroticism, examining the ways in which erotic bodily pleasures have become central to contemporary consumer culture. It investigates the spatial dimension of erotic life through considerations of Bohemian love, the gay city and the ways in which the urban landscape and everyday life have become sexualized - issues which have become central to the emergence of `queer’ as a new form of gender politics and more general questions of sexual citizenship. Drawing on the work of feminists, sociologists and cultural theorists, this book contains a wide-ranging and accessible set of contributions to contemporary debates on sexuality, love and eroticism. Love & Erotici

The first English translation of articles from Maria de Naglowska’s newspaper, La Flèche • Introduces Naglowska’s advanced occult teachings on the Third Term of the Trinity and the spiritually transformative power of sex • Includes two never-before-published essays by Julius Evola • Contains the complete collection of articles from all 20 issues, from October 1930 to January 1935 From October 1930 to January 1935, Maria de Naglowska--Russian mystic, esoteric high priestess, and self-styled “Satanic Woman” of 1930s Paris--published 20 issues of her newspaper, La Flèche, which she sold on the streets of Montparnasse and by mail-order subscription. Bought by many now famous people, including André Breton and other Surrealists, the newspaper served as an introduction to Naglowska’s revolutionary religious system called the Third Term of the Trinity, which considered the Holy Spirit of Christianity to be feminine and taught the importance of sex for the upliftment of humanity. Available for the first time in English, this complete anthology of articles from all 20 issues of La Flèche includes an introduction and notes by translator Donald Traxler, who contextualizes Naglowska’s life and teachings within the larger occult systems of the time, such as Julius Evola’s Group of Ur. He explains how most of the articles were written by Naglowska herself, often under pseudonyms because of the controversial nature of her ideas. In addition to writings on sacred sexuality and religious philosophy, this collection includes essays on feminism and on other esoteric thinkers, such as René Guénon and Krishnamurti, as well as two never-before-published essays by Julius Evola on the magic of creation, the special power of symbols, and the march of progress and materialism.

An illustrated guide to the erotic images of Pompeii, as depicted in wall paintings, mosaics, ceramic decoration and relief sculpture. Individual chapters focus on the depiction of the phallus, irony and parody, eroticism at banquets, in the public, private and sacred spheres.