Aphrodite

ALASTOR PRESS 

In ancient Alexandria, the sculptor Demetrios meets the courtesan Chrysis. He is the queen's lover, a man desired by all but consumed by boredom. She is the city's most sought-after woman, as aware of her beauty as of her power. When Chrysis meets the sculptor's advances with icy indifference, a dangerous obsession is ignited. As proof of his devotion, she demands three gifts - and to win them, Demetrios must commit three unforgivable crimes.

When Aphrodite was published in 1896, it became an immediate sensation that shook literary France. It is a shimmering depiction of ancient customs, steeped in the sensualism and exoticism of the turn of the century - a work in the same decadent spirit as Flaubert's Salammbô and Oscar Wilde's Salomé. Pierre Louÿs himself described the novel as a hymn to "woman and light".

This edition is the first unabridged Swedish version of the novel. The translation is based on Ernst Lundquist's classic interpretation from 1906 but has been carefully revised by Hillevi Norburg and supplemented with previously omitted parts. The edition also includes Norburg's insightful comments and a foreword by Hans-Roland Johnsson. The book is a luxuriously designed softcover with gold foiling to reflect the aesthetics of the work and offer a reading experience that is as visual as it is literary.

Title: Aphrodite
Author: Pierre Louÿs
Language: Swedish
Translator: Ernst Lundquist & Hillevi Norburg
Original title: Aphrodite – mœurs antiques

Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 284
Published: May 2026

ISBN: 9789189633933

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Alastor Press is a Swedish independent publisher with a focus on literature that moves in the dark, esoteric and artistically distinctive. The publisher is known for its careful editions of both classic and contemporary works in areas such as decadence, symbolism, horror and philosophical fiction. With an eye for the obscure and cult, Alastor Press highlights writing that challenges, seduces and lingers.