The Glorious Encounters of a Divine Adulterer

The seven chapters of Section I cover the love affairs of the Olympian god Zeus with immortal – goddesses, nymphs, muses – and mortal women (and one Trojan boy) starting with the rape of his own mother Rhea and some of his sisters or cousins, the Titanesses. The associated “glory” is mainly reflected in the legendary offspring, such as Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, the Nine Muses, Dionysos, Herakles, Helen of Troy and many others. The impact of them all in the ensuing 2500+ years on the arts, music (especially operas) and even astronomy – their names given to the moons of the planet Jupiter – is shown with detailed tables and many color reproductions from major museums. Section II is a 70-page modern “immoderate” debate in dialogue form on sexuality and spirituality, among gods, heroes and historical or literary personalities. These include Apollo and Confucius, Plato and Saint Paul, Cleopatra and Lolita, Oscar Wilde, Sigmund Freud and over two dozen others, touching on topics from love and sex, poetry and passion to sainthood and stoicism, politics and the arts.