The wild sex and sexual practices of ancient Rome

Sexual liberation was a practice in ancient Rome, a civilization that lasted over 1,000 years.

Here's how sexually liberated ancient Rome was.

Homosexuality was accepted

Ancient Rome was largely ruled by men who had sexual desires for both boys and women. The Romans did not conceptualise homosexuality. Men could have and express sexual desires for women as well as for boys and other men. But in sexual activity, whether man to man or man to woman, they had strict rules about dominance, including whether participants should take an active or passive role and who would be penetrated during sex.

The law punished subservient behaviour in men, and Roman culture expected adult males to have a dominant role during sexual activity. Men who let themselves be penetrated were called 'asshole offerers' so men usually had sex with slave boys of a certain age to avoid that slur.

Prostitution was legal

Among freeborn men, sexual inactivity was ridiculed. That's why the legal and taxed business of prostitution flourished in ancient Rome, where prostitutes, frequently slaves, could be found in taverns, brothels, or other public places. When Emperor Augustus established a decree outlawing adultery, he exempted sex with prostitutes because the Romans considered prostitution a way to legally commit adultery.

Orgies were popular

Roman historians refer to lavish feasts and the mingling of food and sensuality. Tyrant Sylla was the first Roman ruler to host sensual drinking parties with influences from the Greek East, between 89 and 80 BC. He provided comedy actors, musicians, mime artists, and courtesans who frequently engaged in exotic dancing as forms of entertainment. Prostitutes occasionally mimicked sex acts while moaning as they practised their mime skills.

Suetonius, a Latin historian, portrays Tiberius as a debauched Emperor who staged pornographic spectacles in his palace at Capri. He enlisted young actors to engage in sex acts called Spintria, a Latin word that meant young male prostitutes who engaged in anal sex.

Porn and pornographic materials were popular in Rome

Roman artwork is replete with pornographic depictions, including erotic statues, mosaics, and frescoes that may be discovered in Pompeii's brothels, bathhouses, and private homes. These erotically charged objects were everywhere. Roman comedies, letters, speeches, poetry, and other literary works frequently represented sex without regard to social stigma. This all changed with the popularity of Christianity.

Women were not as sexually liberated

Ironically, Roman society also expected women to exhibit sexual modesty and restraint. For unmarried women, this meant remaining virgins, and for married women, it meant restricting sexual activity to only their husbands.

Women were only required to marry to follow the law and have children; they were not supposed to derive any pleasure or happiness from the union. Furthermore, it was expected of the submissive wife to ignore her husband's adultery. As long as their mistress was single or, if they were with a boy, he was older than a particular age.