Lust

Abstract

Greek mythology tells how men and women were once joined as single individuals that were cleaved in two by Zeus. The two ‘halves’ are then compelled to seek each other out in order to become whole again. A similar story explaining the existence of the two sexes is reflected in the emergence of Eve from Adam’s side depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. We now know that the basis for sexual differentiation is encoded by genes on the sex chromosomes, X and Y, and the resulting hormonal milieu during development and at puberty; such that the combinations XX and XY give rise to women and men respectively1. However, the question remains: can steroid hormones, in particular the androgen testosterone, help to explain why we seek out a sexual partner?