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Aphrodisia

Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World

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Aphrodisia

Written by: Jean Menzies
Narrated by: Jean Menzies
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About this listen

 'Offers fascinating insights into women's worlds and desires in Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond.'
Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica

'A wonderfully witty and insightful look at attitudes towards female sexual pleasure in Ancient Greece and Rome... Truly fabulous.'
Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy

'An eye-opening and joyful read.'
Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne

***

Was Ovid a surprising champion of women's sexual pleasure? Or did he just want them to fake it? Where did the British Museum curators hide the most pornographic of frescoes? And what exactly was the phallic wooden object excavated in 90's Northumberland?

In APHRODISIA, Dr Jean Menzies dives into the hidden history of women's sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. The classical world stretched across the Mediterranean for more than a millennium, its people and cultures wide and varied and its sexual proclivities equally so. Yet so often when we read about sex in antiquity it is about the men folk first and foremost: which brothels they were visiting, how they balanced wives and lovers, and what they got up to in the gymnasium. Delving into the literature, art and artefacts of the ancient world, from sex toys to seduction tips to kink, Dr Jean Menzies instead centres women and their desire. In doing so, she uncovers the many faces of women's sexuality over the course of thousands of years, and asks intriguing, and sometimes provocative questions about women, sex and desire today.

***

'Finally! An up close and personal look at ancient women's sex lives that doesn't treat them simply as a source of scurrilous gossip, but rather as a subject worthy of care and respect.'
Dr Jane Draycott, author of Fulvia and Cleopatra's Daughter

'Aphrodisia is a magnanimous triumph for the study of women in antiquity; Jean's ability to communicate this information in a witty and down-to-earth way makes this a necessary read for all people interested in sexuality and desire.'
Erica Stevenson, author of The Odyssey Effect©2026 Dr. Jean Menzies (P)2026 Octopus Publishing Group Limited Ancient Europe Greece Human Sexuality Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Rome
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Critic Reviews

'Was sex always the same? Have women always expressed their desire in the same way? In Aphrodisia, Jean Menzies suggests that if history shows anything, it's that there is no one rule to women's desire, except that every woman deserves it. Written with a light touch yet traversing the histories, art and literature of Greece and Rome and unpacking the legacies (and lies) in the history of sex they left behind, Menzies' book offers fascinating insights into women's worlds and desires in Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond.'
-Emily Hauser, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mythica
'Aphrodisia by Jean Menzies is a wonderfully witty and insightful look at attitudes towards female sexual pleasure in Ancient Greece and Rome... Truly fabulous.'
-Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Wolf Den trilogy
Finally! An up close and personal look at ancient women's sex lives that doesn't treat them simply as a source of scurrilous gossip, but rather as a subject worthy of care and respect. Dr Jean Menzies' study is an indispensable guide to considerations of gender and sexuality in the Graeco-Roman world as they pertain to that unfortunately so often invisible (or deliberately ignored) half of society.
-Dr Jane Draycott, Author of Fulvia and Cleopatra's Daughter
'Aphrodisia is a magnanimous triumph for the study of women in antiquity; Jean's ability to communicate this information in a witty and down-to-earth way makes this a necessary read for all people interested in sexuality and desire.'
-Erica Stevenson, author of The Odyssey Effect
Fascinating, funny and brilliantly informative, Aphrodisia is an eye-opening and joyful read that explores the lives and desires of women in the ancient world. Dr Jean Menzies brings history to life in a way that is inclusive, accessible and truly important.
-Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne
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