The intricate relationship between the erotic and the literary is a recurring theme in Western literature, with a starting-point in Plato’s dialogues. Our need to talk, write, and read about love has resulted in a rich tradition, ranging from theoretical and philosophical discussions of Eros to love romance and poetry, clearly marked by the classical heritage but continuously unfolding and rewriting itself.

The essays in this volume aim at providing both students and scholars with a series of discussions of this long tradition of reading and writing the erotic, seen from a number of different perspectives. A certain emphasis is placed on Classical philology, and in particular Greek and Roman love poetry from Antiquity to the Byzantine period. The contributors examine texts by Plato, Catullus, Sulpicia, Meleager and Niketas Choniates among others; but the anthology also offers more general treatments within the fields of Byzantine Studies, Iranian Languages, History of Ideas and Comparative Literature.

Across this range of writers and disciplines, this collection of essays offers stimulating and original perspectives on how Eros has been appropriated in a variety of ways for purposes of producing narratives of love.

Ingela Nilsson is Associate Professor of Byzantine Studies at Uppsala University.

Contributors: Emmanuel C. Bourbouhakis, Anders Cullhed, Tomas Hägg, Regina Höschele, Dimitrios Iordanoglou, Mats Persson, Mathilde Skoie, Bo Utas, David Westberg, Tim Whitmarsh


Danish
Det vanskelige forhold mellem det erotiske og det litterære er et tilbagevendende tema i vesterlandsk litteratur. Vores behov for at tale, skrive og læse om kærlighed har resulteret i en rig tradition, som spænder fra teoretiske og filosofiske diskussioner om Eros til romaner og kærlighedspoesi, en tradition præget af den klassiske arv, men samtidig under stadig udvikling og omskrivning.

Bogen giver et indblik i en række diskussioner om traditionen »at læse og skrive det erotiske«. Alle tekster analyseres fra forskellige perspektiver, men med det fælles mål at belyse hvordan kærlighed formes, konstrueres og manipuleres af forfattere og ikke mindst af os selv som læsere.

Ingela Nilsson, lektor i byzantinske studier ved Uppsala Universitet.