Some scholars say that the reputation for Roman orgy's in the time of the empire are greatly exaggerated, others say we have no idea the extent of decadence and hedonism in ancient, pre-Christian times. I'd, of course, like to project all my most carnal desires into this era. A time of fantastic religions, where gods and goddesses were like humans, complete with rage, jealousy, and infidelity. A time of little scientific knowledge, but immense wealth and power. The Romans gave us the the famous Roman baths, which they'd taken from the Persians, and wine and music, which they'd learned from the Greeks. Homes of the Roman aristocrats are covered with pornographic frescos and tile mosaics. Their statures show men and women, women and women, men and men, even men and goats.
Growing up in the US, with our indelible Puritan roots, it's nearly impossible to imagine a ruling class with nothing to do but feast off of lambs and drink wine and have sex parties. Before movies, before TV, how did the leisure class entertain themselves? If they all hung out on pillows, drinking wine from their lead goblets, what if someone's toga slipped to the side. What if, in that warm Italian climate, the woman didn't cover their breasts? What if someone started sucking someone's cock, and then someone else reached over, and then it began.
It's such a modern and American concept that a husband and wife are alone in a nuclear family, watching TV by themselves, doing their own thing, forging their own life without regard to the neighbors. In ancient times, it was more about being part of the class, more like, perhaps, the college "Greek" system. If you were in the upper class, you partied with the upper class. You were rich by estate and birth--a little sex wasn't going to change that, in fact, it'd just make the bonds of the elite class all that stronger.
Mostly, I think they were bored. Rich and bored, and if they weren't at war, sex filled the time.
Growing up in the US, with our indelible Puritan roots, it's nearly impossible to imagine a ruling class with nothing to do but feast off of lambs and drink wine and have sex parties. Before movies, before TV, how did the leisure class entertain themselves? If they all hung out on pillows, drinking wine from their lead goblets, what if someone's toga slipped to the side. What if, in that warm Italian climate, the woman didn't cover their breasts? What if someone started sucking someone's cock, and then someone else reached over, and then it began.
It's such a modern and American concept that a husband and wife are alone in a nuclear family, watching TV by themselves, doing their own thing, forging their own life without regard to the neighbors. In ancient times, it was more about being part of the class, more like, perhaps, the college "Greek" system. If you were in the upper class, you partied with the upper class. You were rich by estate and birth--a little sex wasn't going to change that, in fact, it'd just make the bonds of the elite class all that stronger.
Mostly, I think they were bored. Rich and bored, and if they weren't at war, sex filled the time.
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