2023-09-25 04:13:33
In ancient Rome, that of the legions and the senators, sexuality was everywhere. The virile member, as in Greece, was not obscene; Rather the complete opposite. It represented the perenniality of life, the victory of reproduction over the Grim Reaper and the vital force. Even prostitution, present on every corner, was understood as a kind of blessing that prevented the youngest from bothering the good ladies. But everything had a limit. During bedroom relationships, citizens knew that there were a series of prohibited practices that could shatter their reputation, and, when the time came, even cause physical and criminal consequences.
Sexual taboos
In ‘Love and sex in Ancient Rome’, researcher Alberto Angela compiles the different sexual taboos that governed the ‘eternal urbs’. The first one he refers to is extramarital relations. These were prohibited in the case of women; Not so for the men, who could count on concubines with whom they could have an affair in the bedroom. Although, as the author explains, there was a basic rule: “The man who wanted to have this type of relationship had to do so with women of a lower rank.” The opposite was frowned upon. The reason? Simple: this prevented the unborn child from claiming part of the inheritance in the case of an unwanted pregnancy.
But the background was much more complex, as was the Romans’ relationship with marriage. At the time of Augusto, in the 1st century BC. C., the newly illuminated ‘Julia’s law on the control of adulterers‘ established specific penalties for adultery and statutory rape; On paper at least. In practice, and as Alejandro Oval Méndez explains in ‘Love and Sexuality in Ancient Rome’, “there is evidence that punishments were applied more to them.” In the case of men, a blind eye was turned, just as with women from a low social background; quite the opposite of that with ladies considered ‘good’. “If the woman was discovered carrying out the act, the husband had every right to kill her and her accomplice,” adds the expert.
The second taboo was related to homosexuality. This practice was tolerated in classical Rome, there is no doubt about it, although under certain conditions. The first, as Ricardo de la Rosa explains in his dossiers on the subject, was that the citizen who practiced it did not deviate from his duties towards the ‘urbs’. Although there was one shame that took precedence over the rest, as Angela reveals: “In homosexual relationships the man always had to take the active part, instead of the passive one.” It makes sense, since, from their youth, free men were educated to be conquerors, impose their will and subjugate their inferiors.
Thus, passive homosexuals with a certain status immediately went to a lower level where actors, gladiators and prostitutes were found. Eva Cantarella is of the same opinion. In ‘According to nature: bisexuality in the ancient world’, the Italian professor maintains that the Romans practiced sodomy “to demonstrate their exuberant and victorious sexuality over other men.” For his part, the French professor Jean-Noël Robert explains in ‘Roman Eros: sex and morality in ancient Rome’, that in the ‘urbs’ the term “homosexual” did not exist as such: “The Roman was bisexual and his desire “He did not encounter a sexual prohibition, but rather the status of the being, the object of his desire.”
The same did not happen with oral sex, where the third and fourth taboos occurred. In the event that it happened between homosexuals, the Romans who had a certain status had to be the passive ones. And there were also norms among heterosexuals. «The Roman should never practice oral sex on a woman, that is, provide her with pleasure. In that case he would be submitting to the woman, both because of her posture and because of the fact that he was giving her pleasure,” explains, in this case, the Italian. Don’t be surprised by the last one, gentle reader. During the Republic, the mouth was considered sacred because it was the instrument used to serve the Senate.
Prostitution in action
The prohibitions generalized prostitution, which in Ancient Rome navigated between two waters. On the one hand, it was seen as a necessary lesser evil for young men to vent their baser instincts and leave good ladies alone; On the other hand, prostitutes had a terrible reputation and were considered, on paper, as the “infamy” of society. The clearest example is that the bulk of these girls worked in pestilent slums at the command of a pimp who waited, patiently but angrily, for the service to end so that the next customer could come by. In practice, a minute lost was a coin less.
All the authors agree that the prostitutes used to be located at the door of the brothels to try to attract customers. To do this, they were dressed in short tunics of bright colors or even transparent ones. The most curious thing is that they did not wear these dresses just to attract the attention of men, but because, according to the law, they had to wear different clothing from that of matrons to avoid misunderstandings. Despite everything, as the years went by the “decent women” (as they were known) adopted these clothes.
At the same time, and after the conquests of the legions brought blonde women to the city, it was common – or, at the very least, possible – for prostitutes to dye their hair this color or – if they did not have enough money – They will buy a wig. “This blonde wig made with dyed golden hair or mane, seems to have been the essential part of the complete costume that the courtesan put on to go to the brothel, where she entered with a nom de guerre or that of her profession,” Juan Pons reveals in his nineteenth-century ‘History of prostitution in all the peoples of the world: from the most remote antiquity to the present day’. They even kept this accessory in the brothel.
To further differentiate itself from the midwives, and to captivate clients, prostitutes used to cover their entire faces with various oils, put rouge on their cheeks, enlarge their eyes with charcoal, paint themselves with a thick layer of makeup and smear their nipples with gold glitter. In this way, a prostitute of considerable age could deceive men and extend her working life a few more years. It was also common for them to shave whenever money allowed, since it was quite expensive. The entire body passed through the blade, including its private parts, which were painted vermilion red and were not covered with underwear.
However, some of the prostitutes considered this care unnecessary since it was usual for the sexual act It was practiced at nightfall. Before it was a privilege for newlyweds. In fact, having relationships in a brightly lit room was not appropriate. And the same thing happened with clothes. “It was very frowned upon for women to make love completely naked, including prostitutes,” adds the author.
Prostitutes could not wear shoes either, although it was common for them to break this rule and engrave words like ‘Sequere me’ (‘Follow me’) on their sandals. These terms were inscribed in the dust when they walked and customers followed them to meet them. But the most striking thing about prostitutes is that they were a transgressive figure. In Roman society, the man was the one who had the dominant role in all senses and, among them, the sexual one was included. During intercourse, he had to always be the active figure. However, the prostitutes managed to equal themselves to them. Thus, it was not unusual for them to ask their clients to perform ‘fellation’ or ‘cunnilingus’ on them, practices that usually relegated the person who carried them out to a lower level. Because yes, the worst accusation that could be made against a man was that he was unmanly.
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