Sex in Rome 20 Curiosities

Sexuality, over time has changed. Of course, in antiquity it was lived in a different way to how we conceived it today. Therefore, we want to show you some curiosities of how sex was in ancient Rome.

To begin, it is worth noting that following the industrial revolution and the rise of the bourgeoisie and the middle class, the idea that the public had to unleash their passions and lead him to depravity was gained ground sexual, especially women and the youngest.

This is how the British Parliament approved the obssel Publications Act, or Obscene Publications Law, whose application exclusively concerned the works written with the sole purpose of corrupting the moral of the youngest and They censored everything written related to the sexuality of the Roman era.

However, there is records of some Curiosities about sex in ancient Rome, As some studies detail, which we explain below so that you can see how we have changed our conception of sexuality over time.

Sex in Rome: Curiosities

Some of the most notable curiosities of sex in Rome are the following:

1. Most of the Romans would have considered our attitude towards sex as something absurd.
2. Sex was a grace granted by Venus, So there was no sense in feeling guilt for practicing it.
3. The men They could participate in homosexual practices, as long as they played an active role, since passivity was bad view.
4. During war times, homosexual relationships were lawful; It was believed that it was a homosexuality rather by compensation;
5. Who were liabilities, were bad, Since this meant that control was lost, one of the strongest and most important skills for the Romans;
6. There were laws to regulate homosexual practices among free men;
7. The man who enjoyed being penetrated was considered liabilities, and this was an insult, then, he was considered a sign of femininity and weakness;
8. Adultery He was considered an offense that a man committed with a woman who was married. Nevertheless, If the woman was lower class there was no problem, unlike a woman from the upper class;
9. If the husband surprised his wife by committing adultery, he could take his life, but first, he had to divorce;
10. In cases where death was not the penalty, then about The adulterous woman fell to the sanction from not getting further again;
11. For an adulterous woman, Another penalty could be confiscation of goods;
12. He aim that pursued these laws, in addition to moral cleanliness in Rome, it was that of the Keep intact social classes;
13. The concubinage was allowed in Rome, and there were no legal repercussions;
14. The prostitution was seen as something shameful;
15. In adolescence, men They had to go to the brothels, bed with their servants or their slaves, but could not remain virgins, since this was unacceptable;
16. Men and women used their slaves as a kind of sex toys, Well, a slave was part of his property, but they could not penetrate them, nor allow slaves to make oral sex;
17. In the Roman taverns there was food, drink and ... sexual services!;
18. The prostitutes were easy to recognize because they dyed the orange or blue hair. For a man, it was a shame to be seen with one of these women;
19. The prostitution It was such a cheap service that It was equivalent to the value of a glass of bad wine;
20. If it was practiced according to social norms, you could enjoy sex, as it was a gift from Venus.

These are just some of the most amazing details of sexuality in Rome. Of course, it is also worth mentioning that pedophilia was accepted, to some extent, because the initiation in sex occurred at an early age.

More information about sexuality

Bibliography:

• Angela, a. (2015). Love and sex in ancient Rome. The sphere of books.
• Antela-Bernárdez, b. (2008). Overdue, raped, sold: Greek women and sexual violence in Roman sieges. Klio, 90(2), 307-322.
• Pagola, e. T. (2011). Sex in Rome: From myth to reality. Bitarte: Four -month magazine of Humanities, 18(55), 5-22.
• Robert, J. N. (1999). Roman eros: sex and moral in ancient Rome. Editorial Complutense.
• Veyne, p. (2010). Sex and power in Rome: Lucien Jerphagnon prologue.
• Williams, Craig. (2000). Sex and art in ancient rome. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 6. 10.1215/10642684-6-2-347.