Sam Woodward

Summary of doctoral thesis: My doctoral thesis examines ancient Greek sexuality, with a special focus on the dialogues of Plato. I am researching how Greek medical texts, especially gynaecological treatises and those concerning sex and reproduction, influenced Plato's treatment of Eros and sexual desire throughout his corpus. In doing so, I hope to provide a new interpretative approach to important Platonic themes such as psychic reproduction, the erotic relationship between the soul and the forms, the soul and body dynamic, and the conceptualisation of the body in Plato's philosophy.