This is a witty, sparklingly argued study about the links between rock, maleness, and the Greek myths. In a boldly original thesis, Ruth Padel examines a hundred interweaving strands of image and influence. She takes us from the pop single to the operatic aria; from opera to Greek drama; and from there to the Greek myths which became the West's blueprint of sexual adventure. She relates the spotlit, adulated rock god to his classical ancestors - Dionysus, Narcissus, Hercules. She also tracks the story of rock through 20th century history, investigating the links betwen male dreams of violence, misogyny, and - above all - of blackness.