Joined by historian Honor Cargill-Martin, Tristan Hughes explores the real sex lives of ancient Rome.
From popular series to kinky paintings, there is a recurring image today of Romans as sex-mad degenerates. And although there are sex stories in the dozens from the Roman period, when it comes to their sex lives there is a lot to unpack.
In this video, Tristan Hughes takes a deep dive into the topic. Get ready: there are sexual references aplenty. He investigates the stories told by Roman authors and explores erotic imagery found in Roman sites across the Mediterranean and beyond. Who was it acceptable for Romans to marry? And why did gladiators become sex symbols?
Up Next in That's Ancient History
-
Killing God: The Assassination of Jul...
15 March - 'The Ides of March'. It is arguably the most well known date in ancient history. On that day in 44 BC the Roman statesman Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senatorial conspirators in the heart of Rome. But why was this political giant of ancient Rome assassinated? How did th...
-
Life and Death in Roman London: The C...
Today it is one of the greatest cities on Earth. But London, originally, was a Roman city. Join historian and archaeologist Dr Simon Elliott in this two part series. With the help of leading experts Dr Sophie Jackson and Dr Rebecca Redfern, Simon tells the story of Roman London. From Boudica’s in...
-
Lost City of Gaul: Unearthing Bibracte
In the heart of the French region of Burgundy, deep in a forest, lies a hidden city that had been dormant for 2,000 years. It’s called Bibracte, the most important oppidum in all of Gaul. That is where the Aedui, a Gallic tribe allied to the Romans, once built a fortified city on top of a mountai...
11 Comments