The word “Erotica” is said to have been derived from the Greek God Eros, and his magical domain. The very fact that this domain involved the act of procreation rendered this term with mysterious powers, which not only survive to this day, but are maybe getting more powerful with each passing day. Part of this mystique may have to do with threats of Racial Obliteration, but the hypnotic attraction comes from elsewhere. The Legend of Eros, and Erotica, dates back to at least 700 BCE, and Literature in that mode has flourished till possibly Humans invented writing. What is Erotica/Erotic fiction? is the vexed question we try to explain in this brief write-up.
The Legend Of Eros
Eros was originally said to be Son of Chaos, and ruled the original and primeval emptiness of the Universe. But traditions and mythological histories tend to develop in time, and later tradition has Eros as the Son of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Sex and Beauty. The Father was Zeus, the King of Gods, or Ares, the God of War or Battle, or Hermes, the Divine Messenger of the Gods (with winged sandals). Eros has two sub-Gods as assistants, Pothos (Longing) and Himeros (Desire) who accompany Him everywhere. As the Legend of Eros developed, a number of Erotes were attributed to Him. But as time went on, Eros, armed with bow and arrows of Desire and Longing, was not lost, but slowly degenerated. By the time Alexandrine poetry was composed, Eros had become a naughty Child. He was later depicted as a beautiful winged Youth in Archaic art, but then the degeneration set in further. By the Hellenistic Period, Eros was an Infant. The ancient Greeks celebrated the Festival of Erotidia, at the Thespiae in Boeotia. Apart from this chief center of the Erotic Cult, He shared the Sanctuary of Aphrodite on the North Wall of the Acropolis (Athens).
Erotic Fiction
Erotica is the name we give to Erotic Fiction that has lasted the Test of Time, and is still read (mostly in private), digested and sometimes avidly portrayed. It is one form of Literature where, except for a select few, many authors have chosen to remain anonymous. In fact, in several cases, many authors who were later discovered in their Erotica, were found to be far better remembered as the creators of this form of literature only. Sure a lot of people are out there looking for a free sex near me site, but many are still quietly consuming and creating erotic fiction.
The Modern Best
And here are the names of some of the steamiest Erotica ever written:
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover, by DH Lawrence.
- Delta of Venus.
- Sabbath’s Theater, by Phillip Roth.
- Portnoy’s Complaint, by Phillip Roth .
- A Sport and a Pastime, by James Salter.
- Written on the Body, by Jeanette Winterson.
- The Rachel Papers, by Martin Amis.
- Lust, by Susan Minot.
- The Unbelievable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.
This List could go on forever. What is Erotica/Erotic Fiction? Is a question that could go on as long Man (and Woman) procreate, or as long as they take pleasure in the Act.
