The ancient Romans viewed sex and sexual behavior somewhat differently than many present-day Americans. In her book The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found, Mary Beard writes:
“Roman sexual culture was different from our own.”
Throughout the Roman Empire, prostitution and brothels were widespread: they were governed by laws and taxed by the Emperor Caligula (12-41 CE).
Much of our present understanding of daily life in ancient Roman civilization comes from the archaeological discoveries in Pompeii.
Pompeii began as a settlement of small fishing and agricultural communities. In 80 BCE, it was incorporated into the Roman Empire when the Roman dictator Sulla settled about 5,000 Roman veterans and their families in the city. Local inhabitants were displaced, and the city was renamed Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum, indicating its status as a colony.
While Pompeii was not a particularly important town within the Roman empire, it had a population of 10-12,000 and many wealthy Romans built houses there. With easy access to the Mediterranean and proximity to Rome, Pompeii was a hub for trade throughout the empire.
On August 24, 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy erupted. By the end of the day, the Roman port city of Pompeii was covered by 20 feet of ash and rock. The city lay forgotten until the eighteenth century. Archaeological excavations began in 1748 and are still being done. Almost three quarters of the city has been uncovered and a number of buildings restored. Among the buildings which have been uncovered, at least one has been identified as a brothel and several others may have been brothels. The building identified as a brothel has five small cells, each with its own built-in bed and a series of sexually explicit paintings. In addition, imagery that many modern people would consider to be erotic have been found throughout the city.
Phallic imagery in many varieties appears all over Pompeii. Mary Beard writes:
“There are phalluses greeting you in doorways, phalluses above bread ovens, phalluses carved into the surface of the street and plenty more phalluses with bells on—and wings.”
Mary Beard also writes:
“For elite men, the basic message was that sexual penetration correlated with pleasure and power. Sexual partners might be of either sex. There was plenty of male-with-male sexual activity in the Roman world, but only the very faintest hints that ‘homosexuality’ was seen as an exclusive sexual preference, let alone a lifestyle choice.”
The Oregon Museum of Science and Technology (OMSI) in Portland had a special exhibit on Pompeii which included more than 200 items on loan from the Naples National Archaeological Museum. One of the displays in this exhibit shows some of the erotic imagery (and has warning signs so that those who might be offended can avoid the room).
According to the Museum display:
“It was common for sex acts and sensual imagery to be depicted in the home as well as the brothel. Households contained small oil lamps, good-luck charms, or statuettes with erotic motifs.
Images of the phallus had great significance. Phallic images appear on gravestones and Romans wore phallus amulets for protection. Farmers place a phallic herm, a fence post with the head of a man, at the edge of a field to ward off evil. The phallus was thought to produce prosperity, signify fertility and power, or summon good luck.”
According to the Museum display:
“Phallic imagery was not intended to be pornographic, but had deeper meaning—it was a symbol of protection and promoted good fortune. It was common to find a phallus as a personal trinket, carved on the wall of an important building, and even hanging around a baby’s neck as a pendant.”
According to the Museum display:
“Erotic images were often discretely placed in small rooms next to the slave quarters or in brothels. Some, like this one, were found in the public areas of private, wealthy homes, suggesting an easier familiarity with such topics. In this fresco, a satyr reveals the body of a nymph sleeping in the woods. He stares as her longingly, while surprised at the discovery.”
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Ancient Rome: Death in Pompeii
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