Contents:
27 GAY MEM SURE TO MAKE ANYONE LGH
Rape and regulatnHomosexualy the legnsLbian loveThe time of ChristianyDurg the time of the Republic, Roman cizens had the right (libertas) to protect their bodi om physil ercn, cludg both rporal punishment and sexual vlence. Roman cup showg a homosexual sex was socially acceptable for a ee-born Roman to have sex wh a woman or a man assumg a domant role. Generally speakg, civilian life, homosexualy was rather rare and treated reluctantly (as evinced by referenc source texts, which noted outrageo, characteristic and equent thgs), and such relatns were tolerated, as I mentned if the Roman cizen was an active party ( otherwise, Roman blood was ntamated.
Homosexualy among men was tolerated and accepted but was fely not the if any high-rankg ee-born Roman allowed himself to be passive durg terurse, he risked mockery. However, Caligula, wh the nsistent characteristic of the mentally ill, although he himself is strongly bisexual, orred all homosexuals to be sent to hard labour Sardia one day. Roman dictator Luci Sulla was not ee om homosexualy, too, he always took wh him, for every war and expedn, a host of his young lover.
Dpe the fact that the Romans viewed marriage as a heterosexual relatnship for procreatn, the early Empire, some homosexual upl managed to get married the pany of iends. Homosexualy the legnsA Roman soldier, like every ee and self-rpectg Roman, was socially obligated to disciple, also matters of sexualy. In the Roman ary of the Republic perd, any maniftatns of homosexualy were severely extermated.
20 GAY GREEK GODS
In return, the soldiers uld enjoy prostut of both sex, slav, prisoners and homosexual sex. The aspect of homosexualy nnot be led out wh certaty among the legnari, who spent a great al of time their pany.
It was also emphasized that lbians were distguished by larger time of ChristianyThe suatn of homosexuals ancient Rome began to change at the begng of the 3rd century CE when Emperor Philip the Arab banned male prostutn. In this century, further steps were taken to end homosexualy, cludg an absolute ban on gay marriage.
Wh the adoptn of Christiany as the official relign of the state, homosexualy has bee a socially unacceptable element for good. In 326 CE, Constante the Great troduced the ath penalty for homosexual acts, leadg to persecutn and the disappearance of sexual eedom. Fragment of an Attic cup showg homosexual terurse, 550-525BCE Collectn the Louvre Mm.
IS SUCCSN'S ROMAN ROY GAY, OR REALLY GAY?
1978 saw the publitn of Kenh Dover’s book, Greek Homosexualy. Homosexualy had been crimalised Bra jt a earlier.
The photographs for Dover’s book had to be livered to the prter by hand, bee the post might have been tercepted unr Sectn 11 of the Post Office Act (1953), which banned sendg “cent or obscene prts” by mail.Greek Homosexualy is not a prehensive acunt of same-sex relatnships the Greek world.
Hadrian may well have been gay ( the morn sense of beg only attracted to other men ). The ia of ‘homosexual’ and ‘heterosexual’ did not yet exist - what mattered was to be sexually domant .Now we know om documents that the Londium of Hadrian’s time was a slave-owng society, sharg the same valu as cizens throughout the Roman empire, we n be sure that same-sex relatnships were normal. A gay cupbearer on Mount Olymp?