Moral standards cannot be the same from era to era, from country to country. For example, if you were in Ancient Rome, you would probably be deeply shocked by the attitude of the Romans towards certain things... however, for them it was just an everyday routine.
1. In the event of the death of a patient, the doctor who treated him was deprived of his hands.
2. If a sister disobeyed her brother, then he could punish his relative with sexual intercourse.
3. If several slaves were owned by one person at once, then they were assigned one surname.
4. Among the first 15 emperors, 14 were homosexuals. Claudius was considered a real black sheep. Because he preferred only women, he was constantly ridiculed and criticized.
5. In the Roman army, soldiers were housed in groups of ten in tents. The head of the tent was called only the dean.
6. There weren’t any in those days. For these needs, a special stick with a rag at the end was used. They dipped it into a bucket of water.
7. The elite of Rome lived in mansions. There was a special knocker on their doors. “Welcome” was usually placed on the mosaic threshold. Sometimes slaves guarded such houses like dogs.
8. Curly-haired boys served as napkins at the feasts of Rome. They really did wipe their greasy hands on their hair. However, the boys were not offended, but on the contrary considered it an honor.
9. To make their urine smell like roses, women drank turpentine without fear of poisoning.
10. A kiss at a wedding is a Roman heritage. Then it designated a symbolic seal under the oral agreement to marry.
11. Have you ever thought about what “Penates” are? These are Roman gods whose responsibility was to protect the hearth. Thus, the common phrase should not sound “... to the native Penates,” but “... to the native Penates.”
12. Messalina, the wife of Claudius, was one of the most depraved women of that time. She ran a brothel and worked as a prostitute herself. One day she managed to serve fifty clients at once.
13. The month of August is named after one of the Roman emperors.
14. Prostitution in Ancient Rome was not condemned by anyone. Prostitutes were full-fledged members of society, no one despised them.
15. Spintrias are special coins made of bronze. They were used to pay prostitutes for their work in ancient Rome. They depicted scenes of exclusively erotic content.
She was absolutely liberated and devoid of any sexual taboos. Free Roman society was allowed almost everything that could bring sexual pleasure. For the most part, this was due to the fact that Eastern and Greek trends gradually emasculated the foundations of the harsh Roman military culture.
Sexual life in Ancient Rome is still considered the standard of loyalty to all forms of carnal pleasure. It’s not for nothing that so many sexual terms have come down to us from the Latin language - coitus, cunnilingus, masturbation, fellatio...
Women in Ancient Rome
The Romans treated their wives somewhat differently than the Greeks. It was believed that a Greek would marry in order to have children and a mistress in the house. The Roman was looking for a faithful friend and life partner. The Roman woman was respected at home and in society: in her presence one could not speak rudely or behave indecently. In her house, the Roman woman was the sovereign mistress. The wife could eat food at the same table with her husband and his friends, and was in society.
As for sex, in Rome a woman was equal to a man in the right to receive pleasure from love. Moreover, it was believed that without fully experiencing erotic pleasure, she would never give birth to a healthy child. With the beginning of our era, emancipation flourished in Rome. Women were allowed to inherit the fortunes of their husbands who died in wars. They also received money in case of divorce, which was a real revolution. Wealthy ladies, following men, indulged in erotic leisure.
An orgy in a bathhouse with the participation of three and five ladies became a common event, which was captured in the works of ancient Roman artists.
Prostitution and brothels
Prostitution in ancient Rome took on a truly colossal scale. Roman prostitutes plied their ancient trade with whitened faces and soot-rimmed eyes. They stood everywhere - at the walls of the Colosseum, in theaters and temples. Visit women lung behavior was considered very common among the Romans. Cheap harlots sold quick sex in the old city quarters. Higher-ranking priestesses of love, supported by bath attendants, operated in Roman baths. As in Ancient Greece, Roman prostitution also had its own classification: one name or another indicated the specifics of the libertine. For example, Alicariae or bakers - girls who stayed close to bakers and sold cakes in the shape of male and female genitals. Diobolares are old, worn-out prostitutes who demanded only two aces for their love. Nani are little girls who began to engage in prostitution from the age of six.
As the Roman Empire flourished, the ranks of representatives of the ancient profession were replenished by foreign slaves. There were even so-called “harlot farms,” whose owners bought slaves or raised orphans for prostitution. The slave trade was also a legal source. Pimps bought women and sent them to work. The sexual use of slaves was legal in Rome. Rape of a slave by a pimp was also not punishable. Brothel owners also offered boys.
Roman courtesans
There was also a special kind of prostitution in Ancient Rome. Courtesans who belonged to this class were called "bonae meretrices", which indicated their higher perfection in the craft. In reality, they had nothing to do with ordinary priestesses of love. They all had their own privileged lovers, and they resembled Greek hetaeras. Like the latter, they had a great influence on fashion, art, literature and the entire patrician society.
Since 40 AD. prostitutes in ancient Rome had to pay taxes. Their calculation was based on one act per day. Earnings in excess of this norm were not taxed. All the Roman Caesars held tightly to the tax on living goods, which brought a fair amount of income to the treasury. Even in Christian Rome, the beneficial tax was maintained for a long time. After 30 years, the prostitute in Rome was almost not quoted. The usual fate of such harlots was drunkenness, illness and early death. It was a rare woman who managed to save some money for her old age.
As for brothels, in Rome the inhabitants of brothels were called “lupae” (she-wolves), and the brothels themselves were called “lupanaria”. There were cheap inns in the city. When the owner asked a visitor whether he wanted a room “with or without,” it meant “with or without a girl.” The invoice of an inn found in Pompeii included: for wine - 1/6, for bread - 1, for roast - 2, for hay for a donkey - 2 and for a girl - 8 aces. In brothels, on each room the name of the girl who lived there and her minimum price were indicated. When she had a guest, she locked the door and hung a sign that said "Occupied."
Ancient Roman baths
In addition to brothels, sexual needs in Ancient Rome were also satisfied in thermal baths or baths. It usually began with the slave rubbing oil into the client's skin. Wealthy visitors to the baths were always offered a choice of several boys to serve. Young men from poor families here often became lovers of elderly clients. In return, they received education and promotion. In Rome alone, the number of baths with erotic services reached more than 900 by the year 300.
Brothels were not allowed to open until four o'clock, so as not to distract young people from their studies. Most of the guests were either very young or very old men; the latter preferred young girls. In an era when the slogan “He who does not enjoy cannot please himself” reigned, the need for such establishments was very great. In Pompeii, where there were barely 20 thousand inhabitants, seven brothels were discovered during excavations, some of them also served as taverns, others as barbers. In Vicolo del Lupanare you can still see cave-like rooms with beds made of stone. On the outer walls there are enticing inscriptions: “For loving life sweet as for bees (in these cells).” Another brothel had the inscription “Hic habitat felicitas” (“Here dwells pleasure”).
Sexual preferences of the ancient Romans
Sex in ancient Rome did not imply the presence of any relationship between the two partners. Men and women could do it whenever they wanted. There were no moral or legal obligations between them, and nothing limited the number of sexual partners each other had. In ancient Rome, oral sex was the cheapest sexual service. It was considered normal for a prostitute or a man of lesser social status(slave or debtor) satisfied the partner. For others it was a humiliating experience. So, for example, freely born women It was strictly forbidden to provide such caresses. Moreover, oral sex was even more shameful than anal sex. The ancient Romans believed that performers of such services had bad breath and were often not invited to the dinner table. Women who practiced it were considered “unclean” in Rome; they did not drink from the same glass with them, and they were not kissed.
In ancient Rome, mass orgies, known to everyone as bacchanalia, were widespread. They became especially ugly during the era of Nero (1st century BC), where almost all types of sexual perversions were practiced: homosexuality, lesbianism, group sex, sadism, masochism, voyeurism and so on. The immorality of the Romans went so far that they involved children in their orgies. Such mass orgies were eventually banned in 186 AD.
Description of an orgy in the ancient Roman novel "Satyricon" by Petronius
"... The slave pulled out two braids from her bosom and tied our hands and feet with them... The girl threw herself on his neck and, meeting no resistance, showered him with countless kisses... Finally, a kined (corrupt homosexual) appeared in green clothes made of shaggy wool, belted with a sash. He either rubbed against us with his spread hips, or stained us with stinking kisses... Finally, Quartilla, raising a whip from a whalebone and belting her dress high, ordered to give us, unfortunate ones, a break...".
Bestiality was also widespread in those days. Mass public copulations of animals and people in Ancient Rome are a unique phenomenon in human history. The animals were specially trained for such mating. If girls or women resisted, then the animal attempted rape. For such events, various animals were trained: bulls, giraffes, leopards and cheetahs, wild boars, zebras, stallions, donkeys, huge dogs, monkeys and others.
Homosexual relationships
Sex in all its manifestations between same-sex partners existed in ancient Rome, but without division into sexual orientation. To achieve physical pleasure, it was considered normal to have sex, including with a partner of the same sex. This was completely independent of a person’s sexual preferences in life.
However, there were certain taboos on same-sex relationships between men in Rome. In particular, a man of higher social status was required to take an active role in sex. Otherwise, he was publicly ridiculed and expelled from high society. He was deprived of the right to participate in elections or represent his interests in court. At the top of the social hierarchy in ancient Rome were the so-called "virile" or "Vir" men, who were considered "unpenetrated intruders." "Vir" in Latin means "man" and from this word comes the English "virility", which translates as "masculinity".
There were also lesbian relationships in Ancient Rome. For example, at the very beginning of spring, the festival of Venus the Fruitful was celebrated in Rome. Married women and adult girls went to Mount Quirinal. There was a monstrous phallic idol carved from lemon wood. The women put him on their shoulders and, while singing erotic hymns, carried him to the temple of Venus of Erica. Then, for several hours, they indulged in love games in the temple, after which they returned the idol to its original place.
Sex and the Art of Ancient Rome
Erotic art reached its peak in ancient Rome. Images of love orgies have become almost the main theme of art. Moreover, frank depictions of copulation in those days were not considered pornography at all. All public places and even the walls of houses were decorated with sexual paintings. Subjects that evoke erotic pleasure were also depicted on dishes and household items. During excavations of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, numerous evidence of Roman sexuality was found. For example, the homes of upper-class Romans were decorated with frescoes and works of art depicting people shamelessly participating in sexual orgies. The gardens were decorated with statues of fertility gods with huge phalluses. Taverns and brothels, frequented by lower strata of the population, had their own specific manifestations of sexuality. In particular, various talismans and amulets could be seen there.
Sex has conquered and theater stage. Everywhere in Rome there were performances of acrobatic sex, which the artists performed in the most incredible positions. Such sexual “release” was usually shown during breaks between performances. Performers of theatrical sex were no less popular than serious artists, and pictures of their performances were painted on the walls of taverns. At the erotic show in Rome, actors with huge phalluses that could be seen from afar were especially prized. However big dick was not at all a sign of male beauty. The ancient Romans and ancient Greeks rather considered him comical.
Famous Romans
Emperor Tiberius- all his life he enjoyed sex in all its forms. In his old age, he even maintained a personal gym, where all kinds of sexual games were played out before his eyes. As he swam, young boys, whom he called “fish,” moved between his legs, licked and caressed him.
Emperor Caligula- in Ancient Rome, laws against incest, like many other laws, were very harsh. During the formation of the Roman Republic, people who committed this act were sentenced to death penalty. Perhaps the most famous person in Ancient Rome who committed incest with impunity is Caligula (12 – 41 AD). One of my own three sisters, Drusilla, was taken from her husband and kept as his legal wife.
Valeria Messalina- the most famous nymphomaniac of Ancient Rome. Her name itself is often used as a synonym for nymphomania, the so-called “Messalina complex” (increased sexual arousal and need with corresponding demands on partners). Having an insatiable sexual appetite, she became famous both as a prostitute and as a seductress. At the age of sixteen she married Emperor Claudius. It is believed that she began to be sexually active at the age of thirteen or fourteen. If she liked any man, Claudius ordered him to submit to her whims (marriage to the emperor gave her great advantages). Dio Cassius claimed that she provided her dissolute husband with maids as sexual partners. She herself often had fun with clients in a local brothel. Once she even staged a sex competition, challenging the most famous prostitute in Rome. They competed to see who could satisfy the most men in 24 hours. Valeria emerged victorious, having managed to “accept” 25 men in one day.
Conclusion
The Christian religion put an end to the ancient Roman freedom of sex when it began to penetrate Rome at the beginning of the 4th century. The prohibitions began to grow stronger every day, and sinful pleasures were put to an end. The heroes of the time were stern ascetics - holy fathers who devoted themselves to serving the Almighty. Nobody remembered the unfortunate goddess of love Venus anymore.
family played a very important role. When in the family a child was born it has always been a big holiday, but only if father the child took him in his arms. Otherwise, the child was simply thrown out into the street. Also thrown into the street weak and ugly children.In poor families Sometimes healthy children were also abandoned. In this case, they were placed in baskets and brought to the market.
Traditions in the families of the ancient Romans
Father was in ancient Rome head of the family and had exclusive power over his relatives. He even knew how to execute personally at the discretion of the offending family members. Only with the arrival in Rome Christianity Throwing out children began to be considered a crime in the city, and the execution of adult children was considered murder.
Raising children
When boy V Ancient Rome When he turned seven years old, he began to comprehend various sciences under the guidance of his father. The boys were taught wield weapons, ride horses, they were also hardened and taught to endure pain. In rich and wealthy Roman families, boys also learned to read and write. Girls they continued to stay with their mothers.
Upon reaching a certain age boys in ancient Rome, they received an adult toga and were sent to be trained by a government official. In ancient Rome, such education was called primary school of the Roman Forum. After this, the young men already passed military training on Marsovo m field in Rome and were sent to serve in the army without fail.
Children of artisans grew up in cramped insulae. Unlike children of aristocratic families, they received education only only in primary school. Such training began at the age of seven and lasted five years. Study in Rome allowed constant beatings of students. Summer holidays were quite long. In the city they lasted up to four months, and in rural areas up to six months.
Daily routine
Life routine of the ancient Romans was the same for both the common Roman and the senator. The Romans rose at dawn. Having put on his sandals, the Roman performed his toilet, washing his face and hands.
Roman's breakfast consisted of a piece of bread that was soaked in wine and sprinkled with salt. Sometimes this bread was spread with honey.
The Roman usually completed all his affairs by noon. Then followed lunch who was also quite modest. Even emperors did not allow themselves big excesses during the second breakfast.
After the second breakfast came midday rest period. After this, the Romans went to baths, in order to chat with friends, work out in gymnasiums and, of course, wash.
Already by evening the whole Roman family gathered for dinner. During dinner, which usually lasted several hours, the morals of the Romans were no longer so strict. Dinners were often entertained dancers. There was a casual conversation at the table and jokes were made.
Except visiting the thermal baths The Romans had other entertainments. They loved different puzzles and riddles, played dice and ball.
After the victorious wars, an endless stream of people began to arrive in Rome. spoils of war and slaves. As a result, many noble Romans acquired slaves of various categories. Among the required categories were - slaves gatekeepers, slaves for carrying stretchers, slaves accompanying the master on a visit, a slave cook.
Especially rich Romans allowed themselves to keep whole theaters, where the actors and singers were slaves. Usually such slaves cost at the slave market the biggest money.
Ancient Rome is one of the first and at the same time a shining example globalization in human history. The legacy of the Roman state is truly colossal. It is so great and palpable in our Western world that we can all consider ourselves a little Roman. And now we will talk about several of the most significant things, which, even if they were not invented in Rome, came into “fashion” precisely thanks to him.
1. Latin alphabet 
Where is the Latin alphabet used?
The most obvious piece of Roman heritage. Today, half the world speaks and writes languages based on the Latin alphabet. The Latin alphabet itself, according to the most popular (and plausible) theory of scientists, appeared as a result of the adaptation of the Etruscan alphabet and the addition of Greek elements to it.
2. Concrete 
Only the Romans appreciated this material.
Concrete was invented by people long before the Romans. However, it was the Romans who fully appreciated all the advantages of this material. In the central and western part of the empire, literally everything was built from concrete, from workshop buildings and residential buildings, to temples, aqueducts, government and cultural buildings.
Moreover, the Romans made special concrete, incredibly strong and durable! Scientists have only recently discovered its secret. The whole point was that the Romans used to strengthen the material sea water and volcanic soot.
3. Paved roads and stone bridges 
The Romans were the first to widely build stone bridges.
As with concrete, people have been building roads and bridges all over the world since before the Romans. However, in the “western” part of our planet, it was they who decided that it would be nice to make roads durable and bridges more durable. As a result of the construction of these infrastructure facilities, stone and concrete began to be actively used. The need for good roads was obvious, during the "pax romana" (the era of Roman prosperity), the Roman Empire occupied almost all known world and was the largest state on our planet. Roman paved roads remain to this day.
4. Road web
Roman roads have survived to this day.
Roman roads are of course no longer in use today where they remain. However, the Romans left us another gift. The transport web of Europe and Asia Minor is still determined by the places where Roman roads passed. Many modern highways and highways today coincide with ancient Roman ones.
5. Plumbing 
The Romans also popularized aqueducts.
It will be difficult to patent the authorship of the water supply system to the Romans. They tried to build aqueducts back in ancient Babylon. However, it was the Romans who began to use aqueducts wherever they could. Unlike all predecessor civilizations, the Romans used aqueducts not only for irrigation, but also to supply water to cities, as well as industrial sites: craft districts and resource extraction sites. The city of Rome alone was supplied by 11 aqueducts! Today, more or less preserved aqueducts can be found throughout Europe: in Italy, France, Germany and other places.
6. Sewerage 
The largest cities and the largest sewers for them were among the Romans.
It was the Romans who made sewage not just “fashionable”, but vital for major cities. Roman sewers were used both to drain sewage and to drain storm water. At first these were rather trivial cesspools and ditches, but later the Romans began to pave them with stone and even make underground tunnels! The first Roman sewer was the Cloaca Maxima, which is located in Rome itself. By the way, it has survived to this day. They even use it! True, today it is exclusively for draining rainwater.
7. Regular, professional army 
The militia is good, but the army is even better.
Before the Romans, there were no regular armies as such. In ancient Greece, Egypt and the East, armies, as a rule, gathered in the form of militias when they were needed for protection or, on the contrary, for a military campaign against their neighbors. The number of “professional” warriors in all early states was negligible and most often ended up as the personal protection of the ruler and the temple guard.
The history of Rome is the history of wars, external and internal. And throughout the history of this state, its army has also developed, which has come a long way from the police and militia described above, to a regular and, moreover, a professional army. It was the Romans who changed the concept of a warrior to a soldier, realizing that a large state constantly needs those who will defend its interests with arms in hand.
It is noteworthy that the final transition to regular army occurred due to the economic crisis in the state. The unemployment rate in the country is growing at a terrible rate due to the ruin of peasant farms. The solution was found by Gaius Marius, who began to take all free inhabitants of the country (not only citizens), military service promising salary and land upon retirement
8. Patronage 
The Romans made it fashionable to patronize the arts and sciences.
This very phenomenon in society was named after Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, best friend ruler of Rome Octavian Augustus. To put it simply modern language, one could call Maecenas the first minister of culture in the history of mankind. In fact, Guy Tsilniy did not hold any official position, but actively sponsored cultural figures so that they would glorify state values and Octavian Augustus himself.
9. Republic 
The Republic is a common cause.
When modern people talk about democracy, republic and freedom, you might think that all these three words are synonyms. In fact, this is not at all true. The democracy of Athens had nothing to do with the Republic of Rome, the latter being precisely the grandfather of all republican forms of government.
It was the Romans who were the first to appreciate the benefits of the division of power, realizing that its concentration in the hands of one person could be dangerous for the entire society. Ironically, it was the concentration of power in one hand already in the imperial period that would become one of the gravediggers ancient state.
Nevertheless, for a long time the Romans actually managed to successfully share power in society and achieve public consensus among all free inhabitants of the country. Even if at times, for this, the poorest representatives of society had to blackmail the richest with mass migration to other lands, or even take up arms.
10. Citizenship 
Anyone who lives and is free can be a citizen.
Perhaps the most important heritage of Rome, which today, one way or another, people use. The concept of “citizen” existed in many ancient states. However, only the Romans eventually came to the conclusion that everything free people must be citizens of the empire, regardless of where they were born and in what part of the state they live.
11. Christianity 
Sim you will win.
For a long time in the Roman Empire, Christians were considered a dangerous Jewish sect. However, everything changed under Constantine the Great, who, after the Battle of Rome, equalized all religions in rights. He will transfer that same cross from Jerusalem to new capital state - Constantinople. Already Theodosius I the Great will make Christianity state religion. Thus, thanks to Rome, the Christian faith will begin to spread throughout the world.
12. Social mobility 
The Roman Empire almost surpassed the modern United States in social mobility.
Finally, I would like to talk about one more “gift”. Like all ancient states, Rome was a slave-owning state. It was in ancient Rome that the concept of “classical slavery” was formed, that terrible phenomenon that today seems like absolute savagery. But with all this, terrible Rome was strikingly different from any other state in the matter of social mobility.
Before Rome, in some ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylon, people died as they were born. For many centuries after Rome, people died as they were born. And only in Rome, for the first time, people began to actively use social mobility. Here slaves became free, freedmen rose to the aristocracy, and ordinary soldiers made their way to the emperor.
Post scriptum 
Mausoleum of a simple baker.
The hero himself.
Today, in modern Rome, in the city center, near the Colosseum and the ruins of the Forum, you can find a small mausoleum. The owner of this mausoleum was not an emperor, not a senator, or even a respectable citizen. Its owner is a simple baker - Mark Virgil Eurysak. He was born a slave into a family of Greek migrants, was able to gain freedom, entered into an agreement with the country's capital for the supply of bread and became so rich that he was eventually able to afford this very monument for himself and his wife.
Ancient Rome, along with Ancient Greece, considered the cradle European culture. However, some traditions of that time seem strange even to us, who have seen everything or almost everything.
10th place: The streets of Rome were often named after the artisans or merchants who settled there. For example, there was a “Sandal” street in the city - a street of sandal-making specialists (vicus Sandalarius). On this street, Augustus erected the famous statue of Apollo, which became known as Apollo Sandalarius.
9th place: No flowers or trees were planted on the Roman streets: there was simply no room for this. The Romans knew about traffic jams long before the birth of Christ. If a mounted military detachment was passing along the street, it could push back pedestrians with impunity and even beat them.
8th place: The walls of many houses were decorated with explicit images of sexual scenes. It was not considered pornography, but an object of worship and admiration. Artists were especially valued for their ability to convey to the audience the full intensity of such scenes.
7th place: Rome is generally famous for its free morals. Pedophilia, same-sex relationships and group sex were the order of the day. But wealthy noble Romans were advised to avoid having sex with women from high society, since if the result was an illegitimate child, then big problems with the division of inheritance.
6th place: Roman feasts were not a very beautiful sight. Regardless of the size of the room and the number of people dining, the table was very small. One dining companion was separated from another by pillows and cloths. The crowded people, warmed by wine and food, sweated incessantly and, in order not to catch a cold, covered themselves with special capes.
5th place: The Romans adopted gladiator fights from the Greeks. Not only a prisoner of war, but also any free citizen who wanted to earn money could become a gladiator. In order to become a gladiator, it was necessary to take an oath and declare oneself “legally dead.”
4th place: Civil criminals could also be sentenced to the arena. Like, for example, one jeweler who deceived customers.
3rd place: The Romans also had something like a movie. During naumakhiyas, historical battles were played out in great detail. To stage one battle, a huge artificial lake was dug. 16 galleys with 4 thousand oarsmen and 2 thousand gladiator soldiers took part in the performance.
2nd place: Prostitution flourished in Rome. Prostitutes worked almost everywhere and varied not only in cost, but also in the nature of the services provided. For example, bustuaries ("Bustuariae") were prostitutes who wandered around graves (busta) and bonfires in cemeteries at night. Often they played the role of mourners during funeral rites.
1st place: Roman toilets (in Latin they were called “latrina” or “forica”) were quite spacious - the largest could accommodate about 50 people at the same time. The floors of the toilets were paved with mosaics, usually depicting dolphins, and there was a fountain in the center. Musicians often played in foriki, and those gathered held conversations and shared news. Often one could hear political witticisms and poetry there.
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