Games of Venus

<p>Recent attacks on contemporary art have portrayed the erotic content of works by Robert Mapplethorpe and others as if it were a deviation from the Western artistic tradition. On the contrary there is a rich tradition of eroticism in the arts beginning with the erotic verse of ancient Greek and Roman poets.<br><br><strong><em>Games of Venus</em></strong> the first comprehensive anthology in English of ancient Greek and Roman erotic verse revives this tradition for the modern reader.<br><br><strong><em>Games of Venus</em></strong> presents the whole spectrum of erotic poetry from Sappho to Ovid in translations which evoke the full range of styles and tones present in the original Greek and Latin.<br><br> Brief biographical sketches accompany the work of each poet as do notes referring to the myths geography historical events personages and sexual and social customs mentioned in the verse.</p>