How many people werr gay in thr roman empire
Queer Romans
Queer lives hold always been part of history! For the last day of Pride Month 2021, Victoria Vening-Richards who is one of our Amgueddfa Cymru Producers has written an investigation of queer lives in ancient Rome. With thanks to Stamp Lewis at the National Roman Legion Museum in Carleon for sharing his knowledge.
Queer Romans
Homosexuality within the Roman world is a much debated topic. Over the years scholars have approach to varying conclusions; some suggest gay relations were freely practiced in the Roman world, others argue they were both legally and socially condemned. However, neither argument has been able to reach a definitive conclusion. This blog will discuss the use of the label homosexual, the social attitude towards same-sex relationships, and same-sex relationships within a military context.
1. The use of the label 'homosexual'
Recent studies on Roman society have argued that the designation 'homosexual', meaning someone who has a sexual orientation towards someone of the same gender, did not exist linguistically, within the Latin language, and socially, within Roman world. This is because male Roman citizens are assumed to h
A Brief History of Homosexuality in Italy from Ancient Rome to Today
Postwar Italy, politically dominated by the country’s Catholic party, didn’t do much against the diffused homophobia of those years. Society cared about gay people only for the wrong reasons, as it happened in 1960 when an investigation on the “homosexual scene” in the northern town of Brescia turned into a massive media case with endless plot twists and unfounded accusations (which included one of human trafficking). When the so-called “Scandalo dei Balletti Verdi ” (“Green Ballets Scandal”) reached TV personalities like Mike Bongiorno, the entire nation turned its morbose attention to it.
In 1971, Fuori! (Out!), the first queer organization in Italy, was founded. Mario Mieli, the most famous Italian Queer activist, took part in the movement before founding his own organization. A year later, a community of gay people publicly demonstrated for their rights for the first age in the history of the country.
Since then, the Italian queer community has been keeping an active role in manifesting and demanding rights. Little by little, and always at a much slower pace than most other European countries, It
In honour of LGBTQIA+ history month, Ancient History alumni Ollie Burns takes a closer look at the social, political, and cultural implications of homosexuality in ancient Rome.
Trigger Warning: sexual violence, homophobia, paedophilia, nudity.
The presentation and perception of homosexuality in the Roman world was vastly other than how it is today, and gives us an example of how homosexuality has been indelibly linked with communications of power and authority in antiquity. The Latin language has no word for either heterosexual or lesbian, and instead partners in a sexual relationship would be presented as either active, synonymous with masculinity, or passive and therefore, feminine, regardless of the gender of the individuals involved. Freeborn male Romans had the civil liberty to do as they pleased when it came to sexual activity, and as such, the notion of a Roman male engaging in homosexual sex was in no way controversial or taboo to the Romans, as drawn-out as it fell within certain parameters.
Rome was a deeply militarised state, with conquest and dominance deeply ingrained as desirable masculine traits. As a product of this, men were free to engage in h
The ancient history of Italy during the Roman Empire
For hundreds of years, Italy dominated most of Europe and beyond. When we look back at the Roman Empire’s leaders, we unearth unbelievable eccentricity and power. Vanity was commonplace, and some men loved to use make up and use perfume in abundance. And they went further: symbolically, they married each other and, in some cases, offered a dowry to their future husband. According to the English historian Edward Gibbon, “of the last 15 Roman emperors, only Claudius was heterosexual” and homosexuality and bisexuality were seen as natural, even though the attitudes of some of the emperors were considered “unusual”, such as those of Julius Caesar (23 BC to 14 AD).
Known as “every woman’s man, every man’s woman”, Caesar, the most notable of Roman emperors, was notorious for being an incorrigible seducer of married women. He was a lover of Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, while also having an intimate relationship with Nicomedes IV, the king of Bithynia—this is why he earned the nickname “Queen of Bithynia”. However, despite Caesar’s fame, Emperor Hadrian was considered the most esteemed
Homosexuality in ancient Rome
During the moment of the Republic, Roman citizens had the right (libertas) to protect their bodies from physical coercion, including both corporal punishment and sexual violence. Roman society was typically patriarchal and masculinity was based on the principle of governing not only oneself but also other persons, especially those from the lower class.
Roman cup demonstrating a homosexual sex scene.
It was socially acceptable for a free-born Roman to have sex with a woman or a man assuming a dominant role. Both women and young men were perceived as organic objects of wish. Outside of marriage, a man could have sex with slaves, prostitutes (who were usually slaves) and the so-called infames (the restricted man). It did not matter with which gender the Roman indulged in until he did not exceed certain social norms. For example, it was immoral to hold sex with another citizen’s free-born wife, his daughter by marriage, his underage son, or the man himself.
During imperial times, the dread of losing political freedom and submitting to power to the emperor led to an expand in the frequency of free-born men assuming a passive position du