The Michigan Daily - Friday, August 8, 1986 - Page 9

Books


The Reign of the Phallus:
Sexual Politics in
Ancient Athens
Eva C. Keuls
Harper and Row
452 pp.
$14.95
In the 400 years before Christ,
statues to the god Hermes could be
found on every street corner in
Athens (if not in almost every home).
These statues were tall columns, with
only two distinguishing features: a
carved head representing the god,
and a large, erect phallus.
415 B.C. was an eventful year for
the city. It had recently conquered the
island of Melos, watched the opening
of Euripides" play The Trojan
Women (a vivid account of the
horrors of war), and most shockingly,
seen the destruction of its Hermes
statues - the phalluses of every one

having been broken off in one night. emotionally satisfying as well.
No one can say for sure who was One pictures the citizens of Athens
responsible for the symbolic outdoors, leaning against white
castration which shook the very pillars as they discuss legal or ethical
foundation of the city's culture and matters, sitting in the open-air
mores. Despite the intense, confused, theatres watching tragedies, or
and somewhat bloody efforts by the drawing geometrical diagrams in the
government to find the guilty party, sand. While there is truth in these
the event remained a mystery. images, they are at best incomplete.
Eva Keuls, professor of classics at Women were not allowed to partake
the University of Minnesota and an in any of these activities, and in fact
expert on Greek vase painting, uses were denied education (except for a
this incident to launch her eye- few "lucky" courtesans.)
opening, controversial, and engaging
study on the miserable status of The idea that "a woman's place is
women in ancient Athens. Using the in the home" can certainly trace its
illustrations on Greek pottery from roots to ancient Athens; Keuls quotes
museum collections worldwide, as Plutarch as saying "the nature of
well as literary, mythical, and other women should be completely
artistic sources, she drives home the unknown except to those who live with
point that "the Greeks weren't all them." A virtuous woman kept her
they're cracked up to be." In ad- body covered in cloth and never left
dition, she offers an intriguing ex- the woman's quarters of her home,
planation for the destruction of the while a respectable man exercised
Hermes statues, which, after reading his body and mind with his fellows
the body of the book, is, admittedly, outdoors and was often ridiculed by

foreigners for walking in public with because such a bias seems impossible
his genitals exposed. - indeed, it seems likely - but
The discrimination only becomes because her statements about it,
more horrifying as one reads on. while explanatory and logically
Child-brides of fourteen were too possible, are not as well-supported as
terrified to enjoy sexual intercourse, her theories on Athenian life. Often
knowing they could expect no they seem one-sentence bursts of in-
pleasure from the act and that they vective, a feeling certainly under-
might "gloriously" die in childbirth. standable considering the topic, but
Men brought prostitutes and cour- difficult to handle in a book that
tesans right into their homes, and otherwise assumes an academic tone.
enjoyed the favors of young boys. Overall, Keuls deserves praise for
Women took their medical problems her work, because she writes with a
to each other; the doctors only con- directness and clarity that makes her
cerned themselves with males' subject accessible without con-
illnesses. descension. Three hundred forty-five
Keuls also raises the obvious provocative illustrations accompany
question of why, if the Athenian men the text, as do telling quotations and a
kept their women in a constant state complete guide to sources. This is a
of terrified helplessness, their must for feminists as well as
civilization is relentlessly presented historians and classicists, for it
as the ideal of democracy and makes one question the definition of
rational living. Her answer is equally "great civilization" - and makes one
obvious - a male bias in the inter- wonder if it needs to be altered.
pretation of history. Unfortunately,
this point is less successful, not -Rebecca Chung

Records

Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper -
Frenzy (Restless)
When the National Enquirer
decided to go after the people who
read People, it recognized that it was
leaving the sleaze market behind. For
this market they created the Weekly
World News. While the Enquirer now
devotes itself almost exclusively to
Joan Collins, the Weekly has taken up
the old Enquirer turf, publishing
headlines like "Man survives after
steel rod crashes through his skull"
and the all-time classic "Monkey
Boiled Alive."
The first song on the new Mojo &
Skid record is taken almost verbatim
from the headlines of the Weekly.
"The A-mazing Bigfoot Diet" is yet
another assault upon the American
underbelly by Mojo & Skid, visionary
wizards of guitar and washboard, and
it's clear from the third chord that
this record is dangerous...subversive
...PG-13 at least.
Better make that an "R." The next
song, "Stuffing Martha's Muffin"
features Mojo revealing hisnsecret
lust for MTVs Martha Quinn, while
proposing a related, but even more
repugnant interaction with the station
itself. But jeepers, it sure is nice to
run into ornery cusses who don't give
a flying fish what Tipper Gore and
Mothers for Moral Music'think about
their record.
This is a solid album...other

highlights include: a cover of Alice
Cooper's "Be My Lover" with lyrical
adjustments ...play in a rock and
roll duo....she asked me why the
singer's name was Mojo, "Ain't Got
No Boss" a ravin', howlin' celebration
of freedom from the workaday world,
and Skid dueting with himself on
harmonica on a cover of Iron Butter-
fly's "In-a Gadda-Da-Vida."
The album also contains a nominee
in the contest for the best-titled song
of the year, with "I'm Living With the
Three-Foot Anti-Christ."
FRENZY is not for the faint-of-
heart. Not for the easily offended
(Mojo does say the word "pus,"
among others.) This record is filthy,
scatological, lewd, impolite, loud, and
if it smelled it would smell like the
spoor of a swamp-varmit. But, as with
the Weekly World News, there is a
crowd that appreciates this sort of
thing. There are people who can ap-
preciate the dunghill without sear-
ching for the diamonds.
And this is an extraordinary
dunghill. We should see more like this
one.
-John Logie
Peter Zaremba's Love
Delegation - Spread the
Word (Moving Target)
Everybody's feeling fine, let's have
a good time!
Fleshtone/Cutting Edge-host Peter

Zaremba has created an instant enough and the mood is right, you horns, and hand percussionists.
mega-party with his Love Delegation. won't mind, and you'll be too busy Nothing too wild, this mixed album
Decked out in love beads a plenty, dancing to care. Have yourself a good has good results. -Chris Dunn
Zaremba and company (the time.
delegates) play loud and hard with a - -Beth Fertig Phezulu Equdeni (Carthage
healthy share of sitars, cheezy farfisa, Records)
organs, tambourines, and a heavy- Aliana-Archepelago- TR os)
duty rhyhm ectin fatuingThis album, originally issued in
duty rhythm section featuring (Hannibal Records) 1975, is port of Carthage Records'
another Fleshtoner, Keith Streng, on As es ag
guitar. The music is sheer R&R meeots Ailana plays ethnic jazz fusion, classic jive series and features the
R&B, like that of the best garage ban- which ranges from African hand per- Mahotella Queens and Malathini,
ds. In fact, it sounds quite a lot like the cussion with call and response vocals backed by session musicians and
Fleshtones, but that's no surprise ("Traditional Music"), to a late other jive bands. Those familiar with
right? Standout songs include the period Weather Report jazz cut Juju music and other African pop
opener, "Let's Have a Good Time" ("Space Monkeys"). A walking bass forms will recognize these up-tempo
(sure to get anyone on their feet), and synth line supports Zawinul-esque guitars, syncopated drum riffs and
a version of "Some Velvet Morning" synth chordings and solos. Other cuts leader/chorus vocals. One cut, "I'm -
They also do a loaded cover of "After include flutes and spacey synth Supreme," by Mahotella Queens
Midnight." washes. The team of Joe Gallivan (on really stands out, sounding almost
The songs on Spread the Word start synths) and Charles Austin (sax) like a country ballad. Otherwise, this
sounding a lot alike after a while due have digested the music of is classic Jive. -Chris Dunn
to the fact that all are recorded at Zawinul/Shorter and added their own * E
maximum intensity with absolutely twists, along with the help of other
no breathing space. But if it's loud bandmembers, including Ryo
Kawasaki (guitar synth), additional ( n
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