Homosexuality is not a "phenomenon"ofmodern times. Homosexuality has been lived out since ancient times (and probably even earlier). Therefore, same-sex love was also a topic in the Roman Empire.
There were orgies and other revelries in the context of which it was perfectly "normal" to live out one's lust. Roman (and Greek) mythology alone is full of homosexual and heterosexual sex, affairs and - unfortunately - rape.
According to some traditions, people were even more open to homosexuality then than nowadays in many areas.
Or, in other words, why shouldn't humans be allowed to have sex freely, but their gods should? There are several stories about gods mingling with humans and sleeping with them.
A look back: What did it mean to be gay in the Roman Empire?
The Roman Empire found its origin with the founding of Rome in 753 BC. Being sexually free meant being allowed to have sex with both sexes. However, the understanding of being gay or lesbian was different in many parts at that time.
At that time, people assumed that men who have sex with men consciously choose to be gay. A predisposition did not play a role here. Rather, people at that time were of the opinion that one was able to consciously control one's sexual inclination and change accordingly.
Homosexuality in ancient Rome is characterized by a social conceptual principle. This principle distinguishes activity from passivity and freedom (free people were, for example, free Roman citizens) from bondage (such as slaves or freedmen).
And that's exactly why they didn't categorize into straight, gay and bisexual, but into active and passive.
Accordingly, the decisive factor was who had to submit - similar to a dom-sub relationship. Passive and submissive at that time were all slaves - regardless of gender - and the respective younger or poorer in the relationship. Even those who let themselves be paid for sexual services were automatically passive.
Lesbian love relationships in the Roman Empire
Homosexuality between men was commonplace at the time. Love between two women, on the other hand, was interestingly considered an unknown domain. To many people at the time, it seemed impossible that two women could love each other.
The first sources dealing with love between women date back to the first century BC.
Many documents of the time see lesbian relationships as negative. For example, one story deals with the killing of a woman by her husband who found out that she was a lesbian and had sex with other women. Even the Roman poet Martial, who was actually known for treating any deviation from the norm humorously, talked about lesbian relationships with distaste.
Why female homosexuality was viewed with so much negativity, scientists could not answer concretely until today.
From tolerance to persecution
Many may now wonder what happened over time. Why was it apparently perfectly okay for people in the Roman Empire to be gay, while gays were persecuted by the Nazis, for example?
Why the image around homosexuality and co. has changed cannot be answered conclusively today. What is certain is that same-sex love was tolerated (and celebrated) over a long period of time, but was legally persecuted from the second century BC onwards.
The first relevant trial was held in 226 BC. There, a man was accused of proposing to another man.
Since then, mankind has always gone through more tolerant and less tolerant phases. We can only hope that being gay or belonging to the LGBTQ community will be considered "normal" for everyone in a few years. A look at history shows that this is exactly what has worked in the past - at least to some extent.
The joy is great, because Domian is finally back!