Die lyf: fasette van die erotiese en seksuele in die Romeinse Ryk

Abstract

An introduction to aspects of the erotic and sexuality in Greco-Roman antiquity requires some understanding of how people saw their bodies. What is considered  erotic is related to the “ideal” body: sexuality manifests itself as culturally and historically determined. In this article relevant parts of the Greco-Roman cosmology is briefly discussed and concepts of the body analysed before an overview of love relations between women and men is presented. In the final section the shift in views about the body among the early Christians, is specified.