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SEXUALITY DEFINED: PAGAN-POLYTHEISTIC INFLUENCES - ROMAN SEXUALITY - ROMAN SEXUAL PROMISCUITY AND ROMAN CULTURE
Despite the persistent belief in Roman sexual promiscuity, Roman codes governing sexual misconduct were, for the most part, quite conservative. Sexual deviations were at least publicly condemned, including homosexuality, which was called the Greek practice and was regarded as unworthy of a true Roman (Lewinsohn, 1958). These laws persisted despite the real or rumored homosexuality of such prominent Romans as Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Tiberius. From these conflicting values, it appears that Roman culture revealed many of the paradoxes of contemporary Western sexuality, that is, public condemnation of certain sexual behaviors that were evidently engaged in by many of the citizens. Perhaps this inconsistency constitutes another reason for the conflicting perspectives on Roman sexuality.
During the latter stages of the Roman Empire, and particularly under the leadership of Caligula and Nero, Roman society and sexual practices took on a harsh, cruel character. Public sexual exhibitions were performed in the arenas, often with unwilling participants, prostitution increased dramatically, and, by some accounts, sadistic practices emerged. The question remains, however, to what extent the sexual excesses of the emperors were representative of the average Roman citizen. Furthermore, the argument which condemns Roman sexuality must be counterbalanced by the poetic and sensitive descriptions of lovemaking on the part of such Roman writers as Ovid, Horace, and Petronius. Ovid, in particular, offered a manual of erotic content which is still admired today for its artistic expression.
Ovid on "The Art of Love"
If dust be on her lap, or grain of sand, Brush both away with your officious hand, If none be there, yet brush that nothing thence And still to touch her lap make some pretence. Touch anything of hers, and if her train Sweep on the ground, let it not sweep in vain; But gently take it up and wipe it clean: And while you wipe it with observing eyes, Who knows but you may see her naked thighs.
(From: Pike, E.R. Love in ancient Rome. London: F. Muller 1965.)
Most importantly, however, the growing Christian movement focused its attack on what was increasingly seen as the moral dissolution of Roman society, thereby consolidating its own influence. In addition to these external pressures, Roman culture was becoming divided from within by a number of different forces. There were those Roman patriots who were appalled by the corruption of the emperor position, but it was that element in Roman society that rejected all sexuality in favor of asceticism and abstention that had the most profound impact on the Christian movement and, ultimately, Western society.
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Pharmacy Information
SEXUALITY DEFINED: PAGAN-POLYTHEISTIC INFLUENCES - ROMAN SEXUALITY
Although there is reasonable agreement among most authorities regarding the characteristics of Greek sexuality, Roman customs and values are a matter of considerable debate. Conventional wisdom holds that the Roman society was as sexually promiscuous as the Greek; and it is popularly believed that the collapse of the Roman Empire was due, in no small part, to the sexual excesses of its citizens (Canter, 1963). These views have been challenged, however, on the grounds that the sexual excesses of Roman society have been greatly exaggerated and that the accounts of these events are biased and inaccurate (Bullough, 1976). Whatever the actual case, certainly Roman culture was more complicated and multidimensional than Greek society. The Roman Empire endured for a relatively long period of time; and, whereas the Greeks retained their beliefs and customs, Roman culture changed in the light of the changing empire and in the face of continuous exposure to other cultures.
The Romans, of course, shared the polytheistic religion of the Greeks, as well as the sexuality of their deities. Thus, they shared the Grecian religious approval of sex. As Grimal states:
To love was to obey the gods and achieve one of the requisites of the human condition. Chastity could be required by religious rites in certain cases, but it was not a good thing in itself; not even a desirable thing; it was rather an impairment of what was good and desirable for among the gifts of the gods to man, love is always to be found. [Grimal, 1967, p. xiii]
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