"Looking for something suitably romantic or racy to read around Valentine's Day? Put down that copy of "50 Shades of Gray" and try the 1896 novel "Aphrodite." I've heard some readers describe this as critically-acclaimed porn, but I disagree. I'm sure the works of Belgian author Pierre Lou每s have offended some Puritan sensibilities, but I would say this book falls more in the category of an erotic philosophical tragedy.

Whereas pornography tends to objectify the body and fetishize the act of sex, erotica worships and celebrates the archetype of human beauty. In this book, the idea is taken quite literally. Every page of "Aphrodite" is a romanticized depiction of the classical worship of beauty in the form of ancient goddesses.

The action focuses on a sculptor, Demetrios, who fashions a statue of Aphrodite after his queen and mistress, Berenice, but he shuns his earthly lover in favor of her marble effigy. Now, this guy is known throughout the Hellenized world as quite the hottie, but there is one woman who does not seem to be so willing to invite him to her bed. She is Chrysis, a 19-year-old courtesan, and her aloofness drives the artist to mad desire. She easily convinces him to commit three crimes in order to win her affection, leading to murder.

Not only does the story deal in archetypes, it is entirely set within a fantastical ideal of classical Alexandria itself, where nude women bathe on every shore and frolic like deer in every garden. The equivalent of a red light district is actually a community of hippies who serve as hosts to libidinous travelers, their indulgences joining visitor and hostess in mutual worship of the mother goddess of their temple. This is a culture not of prostitutes, but of priestesses and oracles and queens.

But all ideals are modeled after reality, or vice versa. So in this Victorian Orientalist fantasy, there is a modicum of genuine history. For example, we are introduced to the Cotytteion, a kind of temple and gated community of courtesons who worship Kotytto, a Thracian goddess who really was worshipped by the "baptes," or "bathers," via wild lesbian night orgies. Lou每s lets his imagination run wild by having the ladies consume vast quantities of aphrodisiac every full moon, with the eldest required to take a fatal dose. It seems to me that, if this were true, Kotytto would quickly run out of courtesans to worship her.

Speaking of sapphist love, Lou每s is extremely progressive about same-sex relationships, depicting two female musicians who lament not being able to marry according to the laws of Alexandria. I suppose Lou每s was the fin de si猫cle equivalent of "woke".

And he certainly meant to push buttons of readers of his day, but his intent was not to shock. He was dedicated to depicting the crux of beauty in all people, regardless of ethnicity, age, sex, or habitus, and to titillate his chosen readers into thinking deeply about matters of amor. However, there are some moments that will certainly raise eyebrows today.

Case in point, Demetrios goes to temple and chooses a "hostess" who is quite intelligent and charming in her libertine fashion, only to realize that she is quite young. He asks her her age. My Kindle edition from 2017 completely removes her answer, but in the original French and earlier English editions, she responds that she is "ten and a half, practically eleven." Andre Gide was one of the celebrity fans of Lou每s, and so he probably loved that part.

Regardless, this novel is much more intelligent and fascinating than it has any right to be. It remains a truly thought-provoking study of human attraction as well as a classy example of old-school erotica that explores the beauty of physionomie in language. If you are interested in Symbolist literature, this needs to be on your short-list. The novel also ventures into some surprisingly brutal and dark territory, making this a delightful read for horror fans and romance readers alike.

To some in our modern audience, "Aphrodite" may seem a bit too precious, adorned with flowery language teeming with thee's and thou's, but I encourage you to put yourself in the mindset of an artist and just go with it. Besides, the book is quite short. As Pierre Lou每s himself asserts in this novel,

"Perhaps we each have but a single thing to say in our life, and those who attempt to speak at greater length are too ambitious."

For added bonus, many editions feature stunning artwork, from the original scene sketches by 脡douard Fran莽ois Zier, to Beresford Egan's full-page plates in the 1928 English edition, to the lush stylized ink nudes by Frank J. Buttera in the 1932 translation. There is also a 1999 three-volume set containing new colorful illustrations by Milo Manara, Georges Bess, and Claire Wendling. If you can find a hard copy, it might make a nice Valentine's gift for that artistically-inclined special someone.

SCORE: 4 copper mirrors out of 5

WORD OF THE DAY: Hierodule"