Paul Ludwig examines how and why Greek theorists treated political passions as erotic. Because of the tiny size of ancient Greek cities, contemporary theory and ideology could conceive of entire communities based on desire. A recurrent aspiration was to transform the polity into one great household that would bind the citizens together through ties of mutual affection. In this study, Ludwig evaluates sexuality, love, and civic friendship as sources of political attachment and as bonds of political association.

Acknowledgements and a note on citations;

Introduction;

Part I. Political Eros: An Account from the Symposium:

1. Statesmanship and sexuality in Aristophanes' speech; 2. Law and nature in Aristophanes' speech;

Part II. The Discourse of Political Eros:

3. Scientific poetic traditions of eros in Thucydides;

4. The problem of aggression;

5. The problem of sublimation;

Part III. The Polis as a School for Eros:

6. Civic nudity;

7. Patriotism and imperialism as eros;

List of works cited; Abbreviations;

Other works cited; Index.