Book Review: The Fun of The Joy of Sexus

The Joy of Sexus—Lust, Love and Longing in the Ancient World delivers delicious morsels of ancient history with humor, intelligence, and a “wow, get a load of this” attitude (pun not intended. No seriously.). 

Author Vicki León packs a whole lot of information into this little book and she does it in a breezy, conversational way.  Reading it felt akin to dishing dirt over lattes with a best buddy.  And trust me, there was a lot of dirt to dish—everything from desperately doomed lovers to women pornographers; from a goddess of the hymen to a god of enormous appendage; from cross-dressing emperors to religious orgies; and lots, lots more.

Now, to be sure, I’m predisposed to like—nay, love—a book like this. I mean, ancient history combined with sexzy times? Puhhh-lease. The book had me at "Joy."

León lays down her non-judgmental approach to describing ancient practices in the introduction by noting what biologists have been telling us for years—that “researchers in the field have observed more than 450 different species engaging in same-gender mating activities.” Man is no different (except for the being judged, ostracized and sometimes killed for it part).

For some people, it’s a shock to learn that the ancients didn’t even have words for “homosexual,” “bisexual,” or “heterosexual.” Love was love. Status was what counted. Indeed, in one Greek city-state, a military “special forces” group of elite fighters was made up of paired male lovers. These fearsome warriors, Leon points out, had an even stronger incentive to fight to the death—to protect their beloveds as fiercely as they protected themselves.

Throughout the book we meet many real and mythical lovers who give us a glimpse into romantic beliefs of the era, all the while learning about strange birth control methods, aphrodisiacs and anti-aphrodisiacs, and all manner of ways people in the ancient world let their freak-flags fly.

León, who is known for her Uppity Women series and has authored two other books on the ancient world—Working IX to X and How To Mellify a Corpse—continues her successful formula of short chapters filled with well-researched details and pithy observations.

It is one saucy, sassy book that should not be missed!

Full disclosure: the publisher sent me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Ancient Reason We Cover Our Mouths When we Yawn

This story may give a clue as to why we cover our mouths when yawning:

"Once, a man was standing outside his inn, 'when a black dog came up and stood in front of me and yawned, which made me yawn too, quite against my will, and immediately the dog disappeared from sight and I was seized with fever and my face was turned round backwards.'"*

So, according to St. Theodore of Sykeon (600s CE),  an unprotected yawning mouth gave access to sickness and demons who could make your face turn all the way around like in the Exorcist.

Maybe, if he'd thought of it, he might've realized that the dog was probably just Harry Potter's Sirius Black messing with him--I mean, he did escape Azkaban and turn into a black dog and... Oh, wait. Wrong dog. Wrong story.

Never mind. But now tell the truth.  Did'ja yawn when you looked at that picture? Did'ja cover your mouth?

*Source:  Popular Culture in Ancient Rome by Jerry Toner

Review: I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat

Any book that opens with a warning to not eat lunch while you're reading it is my kind of book. And the fact that it also includes lore from ancient and medieval history? Awe. Some.

Author-illustrator Carlyn Beccia's book, I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures, takes you on a fun and fascinating medical mystery tour.  My kids are too old for a book like this (sniff), but they would have loved the format: bright, colorful illustrations highlighting real historical "cures" that range from the outrageous to the bizarre.  The reader is then encouraged to select the one that actually worked.

The answers are both surprising and entertaining. Plus, they offer great kid-conversation starters such as
--why might they have believed that eating frog soup would cure a sore throat? Who wants to test whether drinking a glass of water with fifty millipedes will cure a tummy ache?

But really, what I loved best about the book were the illustrations. Every single page is filled with something that is bound to make you laugh or smile--whether from the poor patients' facial expressions or the actual "demonstrations" of the so-called cures.

Beccia clearly has done her research, even including a bibliography for those kids inspired to pursue the gross...er, I mean, the fascinating history of medical cures. What a great way to inspire kids to love both history AND science!

For more on Carlyn's work, visit: http://blog.raucousroyals.com/

Book Review: A Book After My Own Heart

She had me at “besotted.”

In the introduction to her latest book—How to Mellify a Corpse and Other Human Stories of Ancient Science and Superstition—historian Vicki León describes herself as being “besotted” with ancient history.

I totally relate.

Being besotted means that not only are you blown away by the beauty, wisdom and even genius of the object of your affection, but you’re also charmed by your “beloved’s” strange quirks and outrageous defects. You know—as in that whole “love is blind” thing.

León’s love for the ancient world, though, is anything but blind. Her genius is her ability to cover so much ground in such little space with so much humor. Mellify explores the thinking of everybody from Socrates to Pythagoras; from Herodotus to Agrippa; from Alexander to Archimedes.

Even better, she makes even the most obscure ideas accessible. This is no mean feat, as I imagine that every section she covers required dozes (if not more) books and sources for research. Speaking from experience, one can definitely get “research fatigue”—something you can spot when the writing suddenly becomes passive or dull. Never happens here, though.

León keeps it fresh and funny. Her pithy observations and asides not only cracked me up but also included modern correlates for perspective. So, for example, when pointing out that ancient thinkers were exclusively of the elite, she tells us that the rest of the unwashed masses had to make do with what she likened to bargain shopping at Wal-Mart: magical thinking. Rock-bottom prices on the absurd and illogical! Her descriptions of the outrageous ways people tried to make sense of their world is alone worth the price of the book.

I’ve always believed that if I can walk away with something new I’ve learned or understood, then a new book is worth it (we will address my book addiction at another time). With Mellify—which, León explains, is the process of using honey to embalm the newly dead, a process used on my favorite ancient egomaniac, Alexander the Great—I’ve walked away with dozens of new stories and factoids I can use with kids at the museum and in my stories.

Another plus: León writes in short sections so you can dip in and out of whatever catches your fancy. Perfect for us attention-challenged moderns. (Oh, look—an email! Wait…was I talking about?)

I highly recommend this book!

Leon, Vicki. How to Mellify a Corpse and Other Human Stories of Ancient Science & Superstition. Walker & Company, 2010. ISBN 9780802717023.