Erotic Art
The images above show some of the erotic art discovered in Pompeii. The top right and bottom left paintings were found on the walls of the changing rooms in the Suburban Baths in Pompeii. There is much debate over whether the paintings were used to advertise the services of prostitutes on the upper floor or whether they were just there as entertainment and depictions of 'happy' scenes. Other erotic paintings were found in Pompeii's main brothel - Lupanar. It has been theorised these scenes act to reveal the specialities of certain prostitutes and that they also are apart of what they brothel was selling as they provide a depiction of ideal fantasy sex in order to attract customers. The bottom left fresco was from a home in Pompeii and show the minor god of fertility, Priapus, weighing his oversized phallus. Most houses and buildings have phallic symbols as they symbolised fertility, power and the success of the host. Phalluses were also signs of good luck. Over the entrance of a bakery in Pompeii was a sign showing a phallus and the inscription beneath of 'Hic habitat felicitas' meaning 'here lies happiness' or 'here lies good fortune.'
The images above show some of the erotic art discovered in Pompeii. The top right and bottom left paintings were found on the walls of the changing rooms in the Suburban Baths in Pompeii. There is much debate over whether the paintings were used to advertise the services of prostitutes on the upper floor or whether they were just there as entertainment and depictions of 'happy' scenes. Other erotic paintings were found in Pompeii's main brothel - Lupanar. It has been theorised these scenes act to reveal the specialities of certain prostitutes and that they also are apart of what they brothel was selling as they provide a depiction of ideal fantasy sex in order to attract customers. The bottom left fresco was from a home in Pompeii and show the minor god of fertility, Priapus, weighing his oversized phallus. Most houses and buildings have phallic symbols as they symbolised fertility, power and the success of the host. Phalluses were also signs of good luck. Over the entrance of a bakery in Pompeii was a sign showing a phallus and the inscription beneath of 'Hic habitat felicitas' meaning 'here lies happiness' or 'here lies good fortune.'
Analysis
From these artefacts we can learn a great deal about Roman social life and their attitudes towards sex and what pleasurable activities they took part in. Erotic paintings depicting sexual activities like oral sex, group sex and sex between two men add to our knowledge of Roman life as we can see that they valued sex for pleasure and basically as a type of 'entertainment' and all kinds of sexual activities were commonplace and socially acceptable. This allows us to understand that the Romans had no preconceived notions of morals concerning sex and did not attribute terms such as 'homosexuality' and 'heterosexuality' to their sexual behaviours. Our knowledge of ancient Roman society is expanded from this as we can see how sex between people of the same gender was considered normal. It is clear from the erotic art above that Romans also had a variety of different ways of enjoying sex and the position with the women on top was a particular favourite, often depicted in erotic art as it is as 'both empowering to the male and female and the mark of mutuality within the relationship. It is also evident that the Romans were very open about sex and their sexuality as not only were these erotic paintings found in the Suburban Baths of Pompeii and in the Lupanar, along with other erotic objects/artwork found in homes, phallic symbols were also seen everywhere from on the street to in or outside peoples homes and outside shops. Compared to modern-day attitudes, sex was never something to conceal or be embarrassed about, it was widely acknowledged as one of the great pleasures of life. Symbols of the phallus showed prosperity and were respected by the people of Pompeii, they were not seen as pornographic but humorous and carriers of good fortune as well as a way to ward off the evil eye. The erotic painting of the god Priapus reveals to us that the Romans religion and worship of many gods, actually supported their sexuality, especially since the stories of the gods and goddesses were often rather explicit and contained sexual material. Those living in Pompeii saw sex as a natural and common occurrence and made no attempt to be 'prude' or deny the sexual side of human nature.
From these artefacts we can learn a great deal about Roman social life and their attitudes towards sex and what pleasurable activities they took part in. Erotic paintings depicting sexual activities like oral sex, group sex and sex between two men add to our knowledge of Roman life as we can see that they valued sex for pleasure and basically as a type of 'entertainment' and all kinds of sexual activities were commonplace and socially acceptable. This allows us to understand that the Romans had no preconceived notions of morals concerning sex and did not attribute terms such as 'homosexuality' and 'heterosexuality' to their sexual behaviours. Our knowledge of ancient Roman society is expanded from this as we can see how sex between people of the same gender was considered normal. It is clear from the erotic art above that Romans also had a variety of different ways of enjoying sex and the position with the women on top was a particular favourite, often depicted in erotic art as it is as 'both empowering to the male and female and the mark of mutuality within the relationship. It is also evident that the Romans were very open about sex and their sexuality as not only were these erotic paintings found in the Suburban Baths of Pompeii and in the Lupanar, along with other erotic objects/artwork found in homes, phallic symbols were also seen everywhere from on the street to in or outside peoples homes and outside shops. Compared to modern-day attitudes, sex was never something to conceal or be embarrassed about, it was widely acknowledged as one of the great pleasures of life. Symbols of the phallus showed prosperity and were respected by the people of Pompeii, they were not seen as pornographic but humorous and carriers of good fortune as well as a way to ward off the evil eye. The erotic painting of the god Priapus reveals to us that the Romans religion and worship of many gods, actually supported their sexuality, especially since the stories of the gods and goddesses were often rather explicit and contained sexual material. Those living in Pompeii saw sex as a natural and common occurrence and made no attempt to be 'prude' or deny the sexual side of human nature.
The Lupanar in Pompeii
From the Erotic art, particularly those displayed in the Lupanar brothel, we can tell that prostitution was a thriving business in Pompeii and a way for the many male and female prostitutes to make a living. Prostitution was not frowned upon by society and Roman men of all social classes could visit a brothel without becoming the object of any moral reproach.1 The Lupanar was the largest and the main brothel in Pompeii although it is expected that there were other sites of prostitution in Pompeii (possibly 25 in total).2 The Lupanar had 10 rooms, 5 were situated on the ground floor while the more spacious rooms were on the first floor. It is easy to recognise the Lupanar as a brothel due to the Phalluses on the sidewalk pointing in its direction, the many rooms containing nothing but a stone bed and over 120 examples of explicit sexual graffiti.
'Here I fucked well with and then I went home' ~ This graffiti written above the bed in one room in the Lupanar is evidence of the normalcy of prostitution and the use of brothels in Pompeii - the man had sex in the brothel with a prostitute, and then went home - sex was an everyday part of Roman social life.
'Victoria is unconquered here' - This graffiti reveals how customers scratched their personal opinions of the prostitutes and their experience of the brothel on the wall. This emphasises once again how the Romans were not ashamed of the popular leisure activity of sex.
'Nice sucks it for 5 asses' and 'Arphocras here with Drauca fucked well (for a) denarius' also show the difference and range in price for prostitutes and their different services. The normal price for a prostitute was around 2 asses but here the cost for oral sex is 5 asses while one Roman has paid almost eight times the normal price by paying a denarius for a service.3 This could display how the cost of prostitution varies depending on the service or type of sexual activity, how wealthy the client is or how good the prostitute is.
'Here I fucked well with and then I went home' ~ This graffiti written above the bed in one room in the Lupanar is evidence of the normalcy of prostitution and the use of brothels in Pompeii - the man had sex in the brothel with a prostitute, and then went home - sex was an everyday part of Roman social life.
'Victoria is unconquered here' - This graffiti reveals how customers scratched their personal opinions of the prostitutes and their experience of the brothel on the wall. This emphasises once again how the Romans were not ashamed of the popular leisure activity of sex.
'Nice sucks it for 5 asses' and 'Arphocras here with Drauca fucked well (for a) denarius' also show the difference and range in price for prostitutes and their different services. The normal price for a prostitute was around 2 asses but here the cost for oral sex is 5 asses while one Roman has paid almost eight times the normal price by paying a denarius for a service.3 This could display how the cost of prostitution varies depending on the service or type of sexual activity, how wealthy the client is or how good the prostitute is.
Conclusions
The erotic frescos and wall paintings are unique as they are the only evidence we have of the Romans attitudes towards sex and what kind of sexual activities they engaged in. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius was significant as it allowed us to gain this knowledge of Roman sexuality and eroticism by preserving the erotic artwork, explicit sexual graffiti and the main brothel in Pompeii - the Lupanar. These artefacts are made especially unique as they contrast from our modern-day views on sex and show how open the Romans were to all kinds of sexual behaviour, like group sex, homosexuality and bestiality. In the world today these acts are often considered dishonourable and unnatural and even illegal in some countries and cultures. A specific example is homosexuality and how there is still debate and divide in society today over whether it should be accepted or legal etc. but in ancient Rome, it was never questioned and people could have sex with whoever they wanted to and there would be no societal objections. It is also clear that the ancient Romans did not feel the need to label their sexual behaviours - sex was for pleasure and any type of sex was accepted and celebrated in Roman society. The brothel gives us an intimate and unique insight into how sex was appreciated so much that it was turned into a business. This is also a unique contribution as we can see the Romans opinions on sex at this specific time in 79AD, before the introduction of Christianity and its emergence as a new religion for the Roman people to follow. Therefore the Romans attitudes towards sex were untinged by the influence of Christianity or the idea of 'sin' which was also introduced along with Christianity. Because of this, Romans never saw anything wrong, immoral or 'sinful' with their large amounts of erotic paintings and their free, relaxed views on sex and sexuality. If Mt Vesuvius had not erupted and rendered Pompeii frozen in time then most definitely, the introduction of Christianity would have resulted in the demolishment of brothels and the destruction of the erotic paintings. This would have limited our understanding of Roman social life and it is quite possible that we would never have found out and understood how broad-minded the Romans were when it came to sex. Without the eruption protecting these artefacts, we would have been left completely oblivious to the Romans feelings and beliefs on sex and sexuality due to Christian censorship. The conservative Christian views would have blossomed in Pompeii and led to a suppression of sexuality and the concealment of the erotic art and sexual symbols which were viewed as obscene and highly offensive. The erotic art is also unique due to how we are able to observe how society's views on sexuality have changed so considerably since the time of the ancient Romans. This is reinforced by how shocked many people are when they see the images today and how disturbed and scandalized the Victorians felt when these explicit paintings and symbols were first rediscovered during excavations. An example of this change is how the phallus was once seen as a symbol of fertility, power and wealth but today it mainly has purely sexual and pornographic associations.
The erotic frescos and wall paintings are unique as they are the only evidence we have of the Romans attitudes towards sex and what kind of sexual activities they engaged in. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius was significant as it allowed us to gain this knowledge of Roman sexuality and eroticism by preserving the erotic artwork, explicit sexual graffiti and the main brothel in Pompeii - the Lupanar. These artefacts are made especially unique as they contrast from our modern-day views on sex and show how open the Romans were to all kinds of sexual behaviour, like group sex, homosexuality and bestiality. In the world today these acts are often considered dishonourable and unnatural and even illegal in some countries and cultures. A specific example is homosexuality and how there is still debate and divide in society today over whether it should be accepted or legal etc. but in ancient Rome, it was never questioned and people could have sex with whoever they wanted to and there would be no societal objections. It is also clear that the ancient Romans did not feel the need to label their sexual behaviours - sex was for pleasure and any type of sex was accepted and celebrated in Roman society. The brothel gives us an intimate and unique insight into how sex was appreciated so much that it was turned into a business. This is also a unique contribution as we can see the Romans opinions on sex at this specific time in 79AD, before the introduction of Christianity and its emergence as a new religion for the Roman people to follow. Therefore the Romans attitudes towards sex were untinged by the influence of Christianity or the idea of 'sin' which was also introduced along with Christianity. Because of this, Romans never saw anything wrong, immoral or 'sinful' with their large amounts of erotic paintings and their free, relaxed views on sex and sexuality. If Mt Vesuvius had not erupted and rendered Pompeii frozen in time then most definitely, the introduction of Christianity would have resulted in the demolishment of brothels and the destruction of the erotic paintings. This would have limited our understanding of Roman social life and it is quite possible that we would never have found out and understood how broad-minded the Romans were when it came to sex. Without the eruption protecting these artefacts, we would have been left completely oblivious to the Romans feelings and beliefs on sex and sexuality due to Christian censorship. The conservative Christian views would have blossomed in Pompeii and led to a suppression of sexuality and the concealment of the erotic art and sexual symbols which were viewed as obscene and highly offensive. The erotic art is also unique due to how we are able to observe how society's views on sexuality have changed so considerably since the time of the ancient Romans. This is reinforced by how shocked many people are when they see the images today and how disturbed and scandalized the Victorians felt when these explicit paintings and symbols were first rediscovered during excavations. An example of this change is how the phallus was once seen as a symbol of fertility, power and wealth but today it mainly has purely sexual and pornographic associations.
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1 M. Dillon & L. Garland, Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar (Sourced from WIkipedia)
2 R. Sackville-West, Readers Digest, Life in Ancient Rome
3 www.traumwerk.stanford.edu, word document
1 M. Dillon & L. Garland, Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar (Sourced from WIkipedia)
2 R. Sackville-West, Readers Digest, Life in Ancient Rome
3 www.traumwerk.stanford.edu, word document
