Rome and homosexuality
Queer Romans
Queer lives have always been part of history! For the last day of Pride Month , Victoria Vening-Richards who is one of our Amgueddfa Cymru Producers has written an investigation of queer lives in ancient Rome. With thanks to Mark 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 come to varying conclusions; some suggest queer relations were freely practiced in the Roman society, others argue they were both legally and socially condemned. However, neither argument has been able to reach a definitive decision. This blog will argue 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 term 'homosexual', interpretation someone who has a sexual orientation towards someone of the same gender, did not exist linguistically, within the Latin la
Homosexuality in ancient Rome
During the hour 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 exhibiting 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 innate objects of want. 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 own sex with another citizen&#;s free-born wife, his daughter by marriage, his underage son, or the man himself.
During imperial times, the worry of losing political freedom and submitting to power t
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. Population cared about gay people only for the wrong reasons, as it happened in when an investigation on the “homosexual scene” in the northern town of Brescia turned into a monumental 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 fond of Mike Bongiorno, the entire region turned its morbose attention to it.
In , Fuori! (Out!), the first homosexual organization in Italy, was founded. Mario Mieli, the most famous Italian LGBTQ+ activist, took part in the movement before founding his own corporation. A year later, a community of gay people publicly demonstrated for their rights for the first time in the history of the country.
Since then, the Italian queer community has been keeping an active role in manifesting and demanding rights
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 gay, 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 principle of a Roman male engaging in homosexual sex was in no way controversial or taboo to the Romans, as prolonged as it fell within certain parameters.
Rome was a deeply militarised state, with conquest and domina