The key ideas

The Art of Seduction

Robert Greene, 2001

How did a queen with no army win over two of the most powerful men in Rome? Robert Greene gathered the stories of great seducers and drew from them nine types and 24 steps of influence. A controversial, at times dark book about power that feels like your own choice, and a reason to learn to spot these techniques when they're used on you.

Who it is for

For anyone who wants to understand how influence works in relationships, advertising and politics, and to notice it being used on them. 18+: the book openly describes manipulation.

Seduction is a game of psychology, not beauty, and it is within the grasp of any person to become a master at the game.

What the book is about

The year is 48 BC. Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome, is in Alexandria. The young queen Cleopatra is feuding with her brother, and she has no army that could stand up to Rome. According to legend, she is smuggled into the palace rolled up in a carpet and unrolled right in front of Caesar. Soon he is on her side.

How does someone without power get what can't be taken by force? Robert Greene, the author of “The 48 Laws of Power”, answered this question in 2001 with “The Art of Seduction”. He gathered the stories of seducers from antiquity to the twentieth century and drew a scheme from them: nine types, types of “victims”, and 24 steps.

Let's be honest about the book's status right away. It's the author's own scheme, built on historical examples and literature, not a psychological study. And the book openly teaches manipulation, which is why it's often criticized. Livria retells it as a map of the mechanisms of influence: so you can understand how they work and notice them being used on you.

Idea 1. Power you can't see

For Greene, seduction is broader than romance: it's a way of influencing people without forcing them. In his view, it has historically been the tool of those who had no direct power. To influence someone strong, you need them to want the same thing you want, of their own accord.

In his model, a politician the crowd loves and an ad that sells a dream work by the same laws as a seducer. In Greene's model, direct pressure can provoke resistance, while seduction is set up so that the person feels the decision is their own.

This is the author's position, not a proven theory.

A salesperson doesn't try to talk you into buying a sofa. They invite you to sit on it and picture an evening with a book, and the decision seems to come on its own.

According to Greene, influence that feels like your own choice may meet less resistance. That's exactly why it can be harder to notice.

Read in Livria

About the author

Robert Greene is an American writer. He studied classics and worked many different jobs before his books became successful. He is known for his books on power and human nature, among them “The 48 Laws of Power”, “Mastery” and “The Laws of Human Nature”.

All books by this author: Robert Greene

Terms from the book

  • The Siren: An image from the book, not a scientific term. In Greene's model, a type of seducer who turns themselves into a spectacle and promises pleasure with a hint of danger.
  • The Coquette: An image from the book, not a scientific term. In Greene's model, a type of seducer who alternates warmth and coldness, holding attention through uncertainty.
  • The Anti-Seducer: The author's term. A type who, according to Greene, can repel people through insecurity, pushiness and self-absorption.
  • Mixed signals: A technique from the book: alternating closeness and distance. It can heighten interest, and in relationships it can sometimes turn into an exhausting emotional roller coaster.
  • Isolation: One of the steps in Greene's scheme: distancing a person from the people close to them. Outside the book, this kind of distancing from loved ones can be a warning sign in a relationship.
  • Soft seduction: The author's term for mass influence in politics and advertising that works through image and mood and tries not to look like pressure.

All terms

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