Dreaming of Sex in Medieval Byzantium

‘The more one dreams of having sex with prostitute women, the richer he will become.’ Thus begins one of the several pages devoted to sexual dreams in a tenth-century Byzantine text of dream interpretation. Dreaming about sex indicates a future change in the social position of the dreaming male subject. In a patriarchal society such as Byzantium, sexual dreams thus gestured toward key-concerns regarding authority and power. Byzantium, however, was not a monolithic culture. This paper will explore a variety of Byzantine texts in which pre-modern dominant views of dreaming and sexuality are not simply asserted and propagated but they are challenged, undermined, and, often, subverted. 

Speaker: 203 Luce Hall