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Erotica and sex in Ancient Rome
Мыслевцев А.С.
Roman attitudes towards sexuality, nudity and propriety differed from modern ones, but were not free of restrictions or social boundaries. Status, gender, freedom or enslavement, citizenship and marital position affected what behaviour was accepted. Images and literary accounts need to be read in their particular contexts, not as evidence of equal sexual freedom for everyone in Rome.
Fresco from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Fresco from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Image of an erotic scene from the Centenary House,Pompeii. 1st century ADErotica
In Rome, the image of a naked person (both male and female) was not something remarkable. And the lack of clothing didn't always have a direct erotic context. Nevertheless, there are many works of not just erotic, but also pornographic nature, both with a variety of sexual acts, and without them. And often such images for modern norms of ethics are a manifestation of various types of perversions. One of the most striking examples of demonstrating life styles on an intimate theme is the perfectly preserved Roman city of Pompeii. It has just a lot of sources on erotic topics. In some houses there are frescoes with sexual acts, on the walls of the streets there are a lot of drawings made by ordinary people with phalluses and words on a similar topic. Erotic themes are also massively found in ordinary everyday things - dishes, oil lamps, amulets, pendants... almost everywhere where it was possible to depict a sexual act or a penis, they depicted it without a moment's hesitation.
Spring,Mosaic from Chebba,Tunisia. 2nd century AD
Roman mosaic with the "Three Graces". 1st century AD
Detail from the fresco "Allegories of Hercules". Fresco from Herculaneum,National Archaeological Museum,Naples. 1st century ADA similar spread was received by eroticism itself and outside Pompeii. From the east to the far-flung British Isles, a wide variety of objects are found throughout the Roman state. Moreover, the prevalence concerns not only territorial nature, but also social-this was popular among slaves, plebeians, and patricians.
Orgies
Dionysiac cults, the Bacchanalia and the Saturnalia should not be conflated or described as universal public sexual festivals. The Senate restricted the Bacchanalia in 186 BC, not AD 186. Livy’s account in Book XXXIX contains accusations against participants and reflects the authorities’ perspective; it requires critical reading.
The Saturnalia was a separate festival of Saturn, associated with feasting, gifts and temporary reversals of ordinary social relationships. Scenes in Petronius and scandalous imperial biographies are not representative accounts of all Roman daily life. Nero ruled in the first century AD, not BC.
Fresco from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Mural with erotic scene. Pompeii. 1st century AD
Roman oil lamp with erotic scene. The British Museum. 1st century ADProstitution
Prostitution in ancient Rome took on an incredibly wide scale. With their faces whitened and their eyes lined with soot, Roman prostitutes carried on their ancient trade Hetaera. They were everywhere-at the walls of the Colosseum, in theaters and temples. Visiting women of easy virtue was considered a common occurrence among the Romans, which in a modern way can be compared to going to the cinema or shopping. There were quite a large number of types of prostitutes. The cheapest harlots sold fast sex right in the city blocks and were called Scortum, in a modern way-a yard whore. Priestesses of love of higher rank, supported by bath attendants, acted less explicitly, in Roman thermae. Alicariae or bakers – girls who kept close to bakers and sold tortillas in the shape of male and female genitalia. Diobolares — old, worn-out prostitutes, the cheapest. Nani – little girls who started prostitution before the age of 12. The most common were Lupana - brothel prostitutes from the lupanarium, from which the name came. Meretricula were a complete analogue of the Greek hetaera, who were in the modern sense rather permanent elite mistresses of rich and influential "sponsors". They had a great influence on fashion, art, literature, and the whole of Patrician society. As the Roman Empire flourished, representatives of the ancient profession were actively replenished at the expense of foreign slaves. There were even so-called "harlot farms" where the owners bought slaves or raised orphaned children for prostitution. The slave trade was also a legal source. Pimps bought women and sent them to work. The sexual use of female slaves was legal in Rome, and it was used everywhere. The rape of a slave by a pimp was also not punishable. Brothel owners also offered boys. Since the 40th year AD, prostitutes of the Roman Empire were obliged to pay taxes. It is assumed that the calculation was made based on one sexual act per day. Income earned in excess of this norm was not taxed. This tax brought a significant part of the income to the treasury. Prostitutes after 30 years were practically not listed. The usual outcome for such harlots was a sad end: drunkenness, illness, and early death.
As for brothels, in Rome, as mentioned earlier, the inhabitants of brothels were called "lupae" (wolves), and the brothels themselves were called "lupanaria". There were cheap inns in the city. In Pompeii, where there were about 20 thousand inhabitants, during excavations, seven brothels were discovered, many of which simultaneously served as taverns or barbers. At Vicolo del Lupanare, you can still see cavernous rooms with stone-built beds. "Advertising" inscriptions are displayed on the external walls: "For those who love, life is as sweet as for bees (in these cells)." Another brothel had the inscription "Hic habitat felicitas" ("Here dwells pleasure").
Fresco from Pompeii. 1st century AD
Fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries,Pompeii. 1st century AD
Coin-spintria. 1st century ADPenis - as a symbol
Male genitalia was also not banned. They were depicted on statues, frescoes, mosaics and other objects of fine art. And often it was not just as a part of the image of the male anatomy, but as an independent object or even a character. In the latter case, it could also have "limbs" that are not peculiar to itself - wings, legs, hooves, tail, or, most commonly, other phalluses.
Metal phallus. Barcelona Museum. 1st century AD
Metal phallus. 1st century AD
Roman mosaic with a slave. Pompeii. 1st century ADThe phallus was often depicted on walls in cities, amulets, ornaments and other amulets. That is, it was ubiquitous. This is due to a rather extensive symbolism - it represented both the masculine principle, and luck, and fertility, and protection from the evil eye.
Related topics
Literature and sources
Roman mosaic depicting the myth of Lycurgus and Ambrosia. Lycurgus is depicted at the moment of killing Ambrosia with an axe,when it turns into a vine. Eastern Mediterranean. 2nd century AD
Venus and Mars on a fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD; an image of love, war and Roman mythological memory.
Roman lamp with a caricature of Cleopatra,depicted naked and sitting on a phallus on the back of a crocodile. Late 1st century BC-Early 1st century AD
Oil lamp with erotic scene. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Roman oil lamp with erotic scene. The British Museum. 30-70 A.D.
Oil lamp with erotic scene. 1-2 century AD
Roman amulet in the shape of phalluses for good luck. 1-2 century AD
Roman amulet in the shape of phalluses for good luck. 1-2 century AD
Roman lamp with an erotic plot. Berlin Museum. 1-3 century AD
Roman oil lamp with an erotic plot. 1-2 century AD
Roman oil lamp with an erotic plot. CC BY-SA 3.0. 1-2 century AD
Oil lamps with erotic scenes. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Oil lamp with erotic scene. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Oil lamp with erotic scene. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Oil lamp with erotic scene. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Oil lamp with erotic scene. Romano-Germanic Museum,Cologne. 1-2 century AD
Triton and Nereid (mosaic). Sabratha Roman Museum,Libya. 1-2 century AD
Gold ring with a phallic motif. British Museum; 1772,0314.32. First–third century CE.
Gold ring with a phallic motif. British Museum; SL.43. First century BCE–second century CE.
Ring with a carnelian intaglio depicting a small human figure. National Museum of Scotland; first century BCE.
