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Homosexuality in ancient Rome often differs markedly from the contemporary
West. Latin lacks words that would precisely translate "homosexual" and "
heterosexual".[1] The primary dichotomy of ancient Roman sexuality was
active/dominant/masculine and passive/submissive/feminine. Roman society was
patriarchal, and the freeborn male citizen possessed political liberty (
libertas) and the right to rule both himself and his household (familia). "
Virtue" (virtus) was seen as an active quality through which a man (vir)
defined himself. The conquest mentality and "cult of virility" shaped same-
sex relations. Roman men were free to enjoy sex with other males without a
perceived loss of masculinity or social status, as long as they took the
dominant or penetrative role. Acceptable male partners were slaves and
former slaves, prostitutes, and entertainers, whose lifestyle placed them in
the nebulous social realm of infamia, excluded from the normal protections
accorded to a citizen even if they were technically free. Although Roman men
in general seem to have preferred youths between the ages of 12 and 20 as
sexual partners, freeborn male minors were off limits at certain periods in
Rome, though professional prostitutes and entertainers might remain sexually
available well into adulthood.[2] |
