But then, invariably, the women would turn cold and indifferent, confusing their victims. Men would grow hooked on these refined, sensual pleasures-they would fall in love. They might also lead them astray literally, taking them on a journey, as Cleopatra lured Julius Caesar on a trip down the Nile. Once they had their victims’ interest, these women would lure them away from the mascu-line world of war and politics and get them to spend time in the feminine world-a world of luxury, spectacle, and pleasure. By showing only glimpses of flesh, they would tease a man’s imagination, stimulating the desire not just for sex but for something greater: the chance to possess a fantasy figure.
First they would draw a man in with an al-luring appearance, designing their makeup and adornment to fashion the image of a goddess come to life. These women-among them Bathsheba, from the Old Testament Helen of Troy the Chinese siren Hsi Shi and the greatest of them all, Cleopatra-invented seduction. There were some, though, whose hunger for power was too great, and who, over the years, through much cleverness and creativity, invented a way of turn-ing the dynamic around, creating a more lasting and effective form of power.
What good was a power that was so temporary and frail? Yet women had no choice but to submit to this condition. A woman could always toy with this desire, but once she gave in to sex the man was back in control and if she withheld sex, he could simply look elsewhere-or exert force. Of course men had one weakness: their insatiable desire for sex.
They had no way to compete, no weapon at their disposal that could make a man do what they wanted-politically, socially, or even in the home. Only a select few had power, but no one suffered under this scheme of things more than women. There was little need for subtlety-a king or emperor had to be merciless. Thousands of years ago, power was mostly gained through physical vio-lence and maintained with brute strength.
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