Abstract

_Erotikon_ brings together leading contemporary intellectuals from a variety of fields for an expansive debate on the full meaning of _eros_. Renowned scholars of philosophy, literature, classics, psychoanalysis, theology, and art history join poets and a novelist to offer fresh insights into a topic that is at once ancient and forever young. Restricted neither by historical period nor by genre, these contributions explore manifestations of _eros_ throughout Western culture, in subjects ranging from ancient philosophy and baroque architecture to modern literature and Hollywood cinema. An idea charged with paradox, _eros_ has always defied categorization, and yet it cannot—it will not—be ignored. _Erotikon_ aims to raise the difficult question of what, if anything, unifies the erotic manifold. How is _eros_ in a sculpture like _eros_ in a poem? Does the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche still speak meaningfully to modern readers, and if so, why? Is Plato's _eros_ the same as Freud's? Or Proust's? And what is the erotic dimension in Nietzsche's thought? While each essay takes on a specific issue, together they constitute a wide-ranging conversation in which these broader questions are at play. A compilation of the latest, best efforts to reckon with _eros_, _Erotikon_ will appeal not just to scholars and educators, but also to artists and critics, to the curious and the disillusioned, to the prurient and the prudent