The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy

Abstract

historical place of Attic obscenity, a typological breakdown of obscene imagery, and an analysis of the dramatic part of obscenity in each play. The major part of the book consists of a philological critique of each word group suspected of obscene overtones. This is numbered, indexed, and divided into sexual organs, sexual congress, scatology and homosexuality. There is a second index of passages discussed and an appendix arguing against the influence of Dorian farce on Attic comedy. This is generally a judicious and well-written book, whose ease of reference and comprehensive coverage of the phenomena of obscenity will cause it to be used and abused for some time to come. Most readers will find that they had underestimated the amount of sexual metaphor in Aristophanes; indeed the author is scarcely to be blamed if his mind has been so steeped in double entendres that, e.g., on 130 he mistranslates Photius' ganglion to produce an erection, or on 147 a bird turns into a pussy. Clearly his Greek is not without faults and should be checked. The strength of the book is, despite lapses, in its gathering and analysis of the philological evidence. Henderson demonstrates that certain words are primally obscene and therefore shocking, others less so and adjustable in a scale upwards to mild euphemism and medical correctness. This observation enables him to make some good dramatic points about the distribution of obscenity between characters in the course of which the recent Oxford commentaries are several times correctly chastized for failing to explicate humour. I found his remarks on the Acharnians particularly well considered. In spite of the freedom of the language which Henderson of necessity employs, he has a peculiar view of modern sexuality which causes him to have an equally unbalanced view of ancient habits. Throughout the book we are accused of massive inhibitions, feelings of disgust, etc., leading to neuroses at the thought, sight, or sound of obscene phenomena. Perhaps this is true in Boston; but it is no longer true of most civilized countries, and neither conversation at a French dinner table nor behaviour at a