Since the beginnings of monotheism, religion has seemed to be at war with sexuality and with women. From the crusades of Hebrew prophets against the fertility deities of Canaan, to contemporary Catholic campaigns against contraception and homosexuality, to the suppression of women in Islam, Western religions have demonized both Eros and femininity. In Socrates and Diotima, Andrea Nye draws on the teaching of Socrates's priestly mentor in "matters...