Description: The transformation of the Roman world from polytheistic to Christian is one of the most sweeping ideological changes of premodern history. At the center was sex. Kyle Harper examines how Christianity changed the ethics of sexual behavior from shame to sin, and shows how the roots of modern sexuality are grounded in an ancient religious revolution.
Brief description: Kyle Harper is Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma.
Review Quotes: Harper puts together materials in ways that highlight some of the important changes in sexual morality that Christianity wrought. In particular, he challenges the tendency set in motion by Veyne, Foucault, and followers that emphasized the similarities between the 'restraint' and 'moderation' counseled by Roman-era philosophers ('gloomy Stoics') and literary men, and the more drastic renunciation preached by (some) Christians.--Elizabeth Clark, Duke University