In the line opened by Michel Foucault, John J. Winkler analyzes the fundamental conventions of sex and gender in ancient Greece, using not only great works of literature, from Sappho to Longus, but also marginal sources such as The Analysis of the dreams of Artemidorus and the magical papyri. This analysis is complemented with anthropological works on contemporary Greece and readings on social and cultural anthropology. Within the journey that Winkler raises, questions about gender, sexuality, power and institutions in the ancient cradle of the West are clarified.