In 216 BC, the Roman army faced a defeat. Considered an ill omen, attributed to the moral decay of six priestesses, they were sentenced to death. However, after conquering vast territories, the Romans suddenly turned to indulgence and the worship of the Greek god of wine.
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The Goddess Venus in Rome |
By the early 2nd century AD, the Romans began to worship Venus, the goddess representing love and sexuality. As a result, Roman sexual life became extremely libertine.
During this period, Roman law was heavily biased toward men. According to regulations, a girl wishing to marry had to bring a dowry of 150 pounds of gold (approximately 68 kg), which had to be delivered to the husband’s family within three years. This led philosopher Cicero (106 – 43 BC) to bankrupt himself when marrying off his youngest daughter, even planning a divorce for her just to reclaim the dowry. To avoid such immense costs, many Romans chose to kill their daughters. The law stated that parents had to raise all their sons, but only had the responsibility to raise their first daughter. This resulted in a surplus of men and a shortage of women, making women the subject of intense pursuit by men. Consequently, the phenomenon of virginity loss among young women became widespread in society.
After Rome conquered the world, women’s sexual freedom also expanded, especially among the elite. The vast communication space shattered the old moral foundations. The Romans were pragmatic, viewing love as a physical activity closely tied to money and devoid of spiritual significance. They had no concept of the pure love idealized by Plato. Understanding physical nature as a tool for desire and sexual behavior as a natural act between genders, Roman boys and girls freely dated and engaged in sexual relations by mutual consent. This occurred anywhere—inside rooms, in the fields, along corridors, in temples, or in arenas. In general, Romans were extremely natural in their romantic interactions.
At that time, courtesans adorned themselves elaborately and enticingly. They often stood waiting for clients under “fornices” (brothels), giving rise to the term fornication. Analyzing artifacts from the ancient city of Pompeii, researchers noted: “Among the crude writings and carvings on the walls and columns of Pompeii, the two words felicitas and felix, meaning happiness and pleasure, struck the eye most often.”
Nudity was a trend in ancient Rome, most clearly represented in public baths. With the excuse of bathing, they comfortably undressed in front of everyone without hesitation. Even Roman women allowed male slaves to apply oil and massage their bodies. Occasionally, they also consented to their slaves being naked and engaging in sexual activity. Nudity was not limited to the home or baths; Romans also traded naked slaves. More accurately, when buying and selling slaves in the marketplace, Romans had them fully undress to facilitate selection. In large cities of ancient Rome, such scenes occurred almost daily. Regardless of the weather, enslaved black individuals were displayed completely naked. They stood on a “moving platform” for buyers to easily observe, touch, assess, and negotiate prices.
The number of slaves in Rome was substantial. In the city, there was roughly one slave for every three residents. The number of slaves was even higher in suburban areas. In Roman households, male masters treated slaves as labor tools, while female masters turned male slaves into instruments of pleasure. The image of sexual libertinism spread throughout society. Almost every girl had “enjoyed” her slave before marriage.
To prevent pregnancy, noblewomen required their slaves to undergo certain forms of castration or to engage in sexual acts that would not result in “consequences.” To maintain their secrecy, Roman women even had their male sex slaves blinded.
Bizarre Naked Performances
In ancient Rome, naked performances were a popular form of entertainment. The undressing of Roman girls was quite subtle; sometimes, they only needed to turn in the opposite direction for their garments to fall away. Roman theaters were very liberal, capable of staging any suggestive work. The standard motif in plays was the scene of catching a girl in the nude. Any male or female actor could spontaneously perform stimulating actions. Yet, within the theater realm, female actors held a significantly lower status than their male counterparts, similar to the position of courtesans and barmaids in society.
Besides the libertinism on stage, ancient Romans also expressed sexuality in the arena. For example, in gladiatorial arenas, audiences could watch condemned men perform scenes of bloodshed, such as the castration of the god Athis or the nudity of the goddess Mythi. When Christianity was persecuted, many female followers were forced into the arena to perform. Before 20,000 spectators, they were compelled to strip and fight bulls…
