Romans era gay
Home / gay topics / Romans era gay
247); he entirely ignores the now abundant scholarship pointing to the emergence, in the early Empire, of more individualistic ideals of marriage built around a couple’s social and sexual companionship.11
Finally, many early imperial sources mention that some cinaedi, allegedly for reasons of deceit or hypocrisy, were cultivating an insistently shaggy, austere appearance.
As we delve into their lives, we’ll compare the attitudes towards homosexuality in the ancient Roman era and the modern world.
Understanding Homosexuality in the Roman Empire
In ancient Rome, the perception of homosexuality was vastly different from contemporary views.
6). Is Laronia’s remark intended seriously? The Apostle Paul, with his usual provincial primness, adduces overt homosexual behavior as his chief example of the capital’s decadence ( Rom. 1.26-27).2
Roman sources on cinaedi, though abundant, are also almost invariably hostile, and they illuminate only a fraction of the social landscape.
How did the cinaedi achieve their accord, and how exactly did it serve them?
This paradoxical approach often involved embracing elements of Greek culture while simultaneously criticizing them as feminizing and corrupting.
Historian Edward Gibbon singled out Emperor Claudius, suggesting of the first fifteen emperors, “Claudius was the only one whose taste in love was entirely correct.” Implying the other fourteen Emperors were gay.
120), apparently only because he refuses to believe that the Romans ever recognized homosexual behavior as a distinct category.
His reign, which spanned from 218 to 222 AD, was marked by unprecedented behavior, rebellion against traditional Roman norms, and a unique blend of religious fervor.
Elagabalus earned his nickname from his devotion to the cult of Sol Invictus, a deity associated with the sun and, fittingly, the unconquered sun.
Some Roman emperors held homosexuality in high regard and even celebrated their sexual relationships with male slaves. Freeborn male Romans had the civil liberty to do as they pleased when it came to sexual activity, and as such, the concept of a Roman man engaging in homosexual sex was in no way controversial or taboo to the Romans, as long as it fell within certain parameters.
Rome was a deeply militarised state, with conquest and dominance deeply ingrained as desirable masculine traits.
On occasion Williams urges the importance of “reality” (e.g., p.
Throughout his discussion, Williams insists on melding homosexual behavior into a more general treatment of male sexuality, by including, for instance, broader discussions of male extramarital sex in relation to ideals of marital fertility (pp. This shows that there were different expectations depending on the social class of the participants.
In any event, it is inherently implausible that their social and cultural impact was anywhere near as slight as Williams implies. Under normal circumstances, when it comes to constituting the psychology of our daily lives, does undifferentiated intellectual “discourse” have more than a small fraction of the influence of our families, friends, communities, schools, workplaces, and churches?7 And even then, from a sociological standpoint, Williams’s methodology is drastically underdetermined, since he fails to supply the necessary causal links tying cultural “discourse” to actual historical experiences of homosexual behavior — an exceptionally challenging project even today.
117 – 138) and the Greek youth, Antinous. Male homosexuality was considered acceptable, as long as neither of the participants was married or of high status.
Even so, there are still societies that frown upon homosexuality, making it important for us to learn about the history and acceptance of homosexuality in Ancient Rome.
Intersectionality
It is also important to consider the intersectional aspects of homosexuality in Ancient Rome. The case of Caesar shows elite men were targets for slander from others for being a passive partner, and it could damage a man’s political reputation.
For more information, see Craig Williams’ ‘ Roman Homosexuality’, Saara Lijia’s ‘Homosexuality in Republican and Augustan Rome’, or Suetonius’ ‘Lives of the Caesars’.
Thanks to Ollie Burns!
Medical Opinions
The medical opinions prevalent during the time of Ancient Rome also help us to understand their attitudes towards homosexuality.
Williams reserves the awkward subject for an appendix (pp.
To be sure, all scholarship makes use of brackets, and Williams’s cultural conservatism would represent no more than the exercise of a methodological option, had it not also led him to repeatedly undervalue potentially pertinent information. S.O. Murray, “Machismo, Male Homosexuality, and Latino Culture,” in Latin American Male Homosexualities (Murray, ed.; Albuquerque, 1995) 49-70.
5.
Why Were Ancient Romans Gay?
Since ancient times, homosexuality has been practiced in many societies, including Roman society and culture. Slaves would often be forced into sexual relationships with Roman citizens, and this was seen as an acceptable part of slave life. This contributed to the acceptance of homosexuality as a part of Roman life.
Literary Representation
Ancient Roman literature provides numerous examples of homosexual relationships, from the works of iconic authors such as Ovid and Martial.