THIS MONTH, THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES RECOMMEND:  LOVE BETWEEN WOMEN
     In this most important book in gay and lesbian history since John Boswell's pioneering work, Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality, Bernadette J. Brooten examines female homoeroticism and the role of women in the ancient Roman world. Employing an unparalleled range of cultural sources, from magical spells and medical texts to astrological horoscopes, Brooten finds evidence of marriages between women and discusses the surgical procedure of clitoridectomy as a method of controlling female homoeroticism. She incontrovertibly establishes the fact that condemnations of female homoerotic practices were based on widespread awareness of sexual love between women. Culling significant information from her sources to illuminate the lives and beliefs of myriad ancient Mediterranean peoples, she gives a tour, at once delightful and distressing, of Roman-world attitudes.
     Contrary to the common scholarly notion that early Christian sexual ethics were fundamentally different from those of the surrounding culture, Brooten contends that early Christians and their Roman neighbors shared a view of the "natural" order of society, in which women were passive, submissive partners to men. This profound rethinking of the ancient Roman world is a deeply thoughtful contribution to the cultural history of gender and sexuality, essential for students of women's studies, the classics, gay and lesbian studies, and religion.
     Bernadette J. Brooten is the Kraft-Hiatt Professor of Christian Studies at Brandeis University.