Naturalia non turpia. Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece and Rome. Schriften zur antiken Kultur- und Sexualwissenschaft (review)

The Latin title recalls a Cynic adage (see 107). The book reproduces, in chronological order, 23 papers in German and English by the celebrated philologist from the former German Democratic Republic on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. (A Festschrift had already been presented on his seventieth birthday: Satura lanx, Festschrift fuer Werner A. Krenkel zum 70. Geburtstag, Spudasmata 62 [Olms 1996].) The English title is somewhat misleading, as several papers do not concern sex or gender. However, Krenkel himself selected the papers, and all are worth reading.

English-speaking students of ancient sexuality who know Krenkel for his work on oral sex—which has served as a major resource for ancient sexual vocabulary—will be acquainted with his distinctive style of scholarship. On 233, referring to Suetonius, Krenkel writes: Er breitet seine Fakten ohne Reflexionen vor dem Leser aus und ueberlaesst ihm ihre … Deutung. … aus der Freude am Detail und am einzelnen Beleg … mit groesster Akribie alle Steinchen, helle und dunkle, sammelt, sie in Kaestchen ordnet und stapelt. This could so easily be said of Krenkel himself that one may be tempted to imagine that he wrote it tongue-in-cheek. Of course, it would not be entirely fair, since the pointed reflections which do occasionally season his smorgasbord of citations can be perceptive. Krenkel’s virtuosity as a philological detective should also be mentioned; he often finds clues for assessing evidence in other material far removed from the topic under discussion.

Krenkel seems uninterested in some of the issues discussed in America after Foucault, although he is aware of them. At times he strikes a note which some may regard as “essentialist.” He defines tribads straightforwardly as weibliche Homosexuellen, and asserts that although the word “transvestism” is modern, die Sache selbst existed as “Die Neigung, sich wie das andere Geschlecht zu kleiden” (465, my emphasis). Sometimes, too, he teases by merely alluding to a controversy. Thus, after presenting extensive evidence on women’s use of dildos followed by a complete translation of Herondas 6, he cautions fleetingly that males’ fantasies might colour such reports (446). Krenkel does reveal a modern orientation, but it is informed by medicine and psychology rather than philosophy, and he likes to highlight parallels, rather than differences, between ancient and modern sexuality. To this end, he often cites modern authorities, particularly Kinsey, and the parallels shown are intriguing. (Kinsey’s remarks usually comprise footnotes, which merit the reader’s attention.)

In response to the comparison with Suetonius, Krenkel might cite his own view of the ancillary role of philology: Der Philologe kann neue Fragen an die alten Texte herantragen. Manchmal geben sie Antwort, manchmal nicht. Er hat zu sammeln, zu sichten und zu uebersetzen. Er kann hoffen, dass durch seine Arbeit moderne Untersuchungen der Soziologie, Psychologie, Medizin und anderer Disziplinen—vielleicht— um den Bereich der Antike erweitert werden … diese Form der Auf-bereitung erleichtert—hoffentlich—die Benutzung des Materials bei klaerenden modernen Forschungen (135). This modest dedication has yielded sumptuous fruit, from which a banquet is served in the present volume: exhaustive source material on the subjects treated, helpful lists of special terminology, and intriguing details on everything from abortifacients to obscenely shaped bread.

The feast is not laid out for convenient sampling. There is no obvious principle determining whether Krenkel quotes his texts in the original language. Even some texts which involve linguistic difficulties or controversy appear only in translation. Cicero’s letter to Paetus on obscene language and double entendres is quoted only in German, with cumbersome explanations of the puns (119ff.). A far more serious obstacle is the inadequate index, where even valuable terminology lists are not always readily found. (In fairness, a complete index of Krenkel’s work would be daunting.) Krenkel’s investigation of...